Crash into Me
by MiraResQNU
Summary: COMPLETE! W heavy edits to lemon in Ch 6! Two horribly bad days collide, Ryuho finally pushes Mimori too far... and she pushes back! RyuMim reflective fic w citrus. Warning for mature content. R&R, please!
1. Collision Course

Summary: Two horribly bad days collide and Ryuho finally pushes Mimori too far… and she pushes back. Ryu/Mim reflective fic w/ citrus. 6 chapters.

A/N: It seems I can't write a straight up lemon. No, some crazy plot has to firmly wrap itself around the action and good bits. But I had so much fun with it I thought I'd subject you to the whole thing. That's my cue to apologize for being so verbose- I guess I write how I speak. This is for those of you who clamored for more lemon after 'Sweet & Sour Pork'- careful what you wish for… (evil smirk) **REPOSTED WITH EDITS!**

Disclaimer: Not mine :tear-stained cheeks:.

* * *

**Crash into Me**

**Chapter 1- Collision Course**

_Damn it…_

:BAM:

The large red punching bag swung away at the jarring impact.

:creak:

The links of the chain tethering it to the ceiling winced noisily as the oversized target swung back into the line of fire-

_Damn it!_

:BAM! BAM:cree-eak:

More swinging and more creaking as furious punches were launched at the inert weight. Ryuho found only the smallest solace in the familiar rhythm of the bag's pendulous sway as it retreated and then attacked again. Each blow rocked his entire body as he put the full force of his torso behind it. His muscles burned and his body hummed. His fists pulsed under the tight tape wrapped in thick, protective layers. Sweat clung to his skin, drenching his scalp and face and dripping down his chest and back; every contact shook little drops out of his green bangs into his eyes, the salt stinging them. He didn't care- it felt good.

_Push it out…_

:BAM! BAM:scree-ee:

All this stress, all this pent-up aggression… His nerves felt ragged and fried; his insides churned and roiled, threatening to bust through his ribs. If he could just push it out of his chest, send it out through his arms into that bag…

_Make it stop…_

:BAM! BAM:cree-eak:

The whole situation had been stupid and utterly infuriating. An informant's tip had sent them out to the Wasteland in search of an Alter User that had proved particularly resistant to capture for the past several weeks. The Commander had openly expressed great interest in him and the expedition team Ryuho was leading had sought to ambush him this time.

However, just as they were about to get their man, the Alter User's friends had launched some sort of counter-attack, allowing the subject to make a break for it. Ryuho had wanted to give chase, but had to call off his pursuit when Sheris had gone down hard behind him. After checking on her he found she was only stunned and banged up a bit, but it had been enough of a delay for the Alter User and his friends to make a clean getaway.

_I can't believe I let it…_

:BAM! BAM! BAM:ring-ing-ing:

The last shot sent the bag spinning around wildly on the chain, and Ryuho had to temporarily interrupt his assault to stop it and set it ready again. However, thoughts of the conversation with the Commander following his blunder sent a volley of fresh punches towards the defenseless target.

…_completely underestimated…_

:BAM! BAM:cree-eak:

The disproving look in his superior's eyes after his report as he simply dismissed him, without reprimand, without any words at all. Just a fatigued gesture of the hand that said he'd heard enough. Ryuho had felt so ashamed that he'd hung his head low until he could escape the office.

_Such a stupid oversight!_

:BAM! BAM:scree-eet:

He'd hastily retreated to his room and changed into some workout clothes, intent on releasing some of his frustration in the gym. However, when he arrived he found it somewhat empty; of the few people there, no one was willing to spar with him. Perhaps he should have been more careful to conceal his emotions at the time- no doubt his murderous looks had scared off any potential opponents. In the end he'd had to settle with burning off his aggression with the ceaseless pumping of free weights before his current solitary match with the punching bag.

_Why didn't I anticipate…?_

:BAM! BAM:cree-eak:

He replayed the days event over and over in his mind; he realized with great displeasure that his most glaring mistake had been his own lack of ingenuity- in certain respects he had completely underestimated his opponent.

He should have anticipated that their target would be ready for them. However, he hadn't even considered that such preparation might come in the form of outside help- of friends willing to risk their liberty and lives in order to save their comrade. Hadn't considered it because he had never relied on such himself, but only now was he realizing why: he didn't have any.

No friends, just colleagues and acquaintances. Co-workers and teammates. But no friends. He'd thought that was how he wanted it, but now… Long ago he'd given himself specific goals, and in the blind pursuit of those goals he had simply cut away all elements he deemed extraneous, which included relationships of any sort. No buddies to hang out with. No girlfriends. No mentors. He hadn't even spoken to his father in ages. And where had it gotten him? He'd climbed the ranks of HOLY and had become a well-respected officer, a 'go-to' guy with an impeccable reputation. But ultimately it hadn't brought him any closer to finding _him_- the mysterious Alter User that had destroyed his family and ruined his life- than if he had simply wandered the Lost Ground for the last six years.

:BAM! BAM:scree-ee:

Now everything felt raw and wrong. His entire existence felt strangely off balance- he'd poured blood, sweat, and effort into putting himself in the proper place to avenge his family, but he had been left with absolutely nothing to show for it. Just a meaningless rank and position, a distant and fearful respect from his colleagues, and a deep-seated and overwhelming need to fight something, _anything_, on a daily basis. What kind of life had he created for himself?

_All for nothing!_

:BAM! BAM!— KA-BAM:cree-:SPOOOOSH:whuuuuuump:

The last blow, glowing with the hint of his Alter, proved too much for the thick leather and it ripped down the length of the bag, exploding on the side and dropping all of its sawdust innards into a giant, dusty heap on the floor. Relieved of its weight, the top half of the bag listlessly swayed with the lingering momentum of the decisive jab.

"Damn it to Hell!"

A deep, calming breath only slightly smoothed Ryuho's prickly nerves. A quick glance around proved that everyone in the immediate vicinity had not only seen his little performance with the punching bag but had heard his accompanying outburst. He felt the tips of his ears grow hot with embarrassment, but he quickly fixed a defiant look on his face as he walked away from the bag. To his dismay, he found that he was still brimming with stress and unresolved aggression. Perhaps some calisthenics in his room might calm him down; nothing else was working. Woe to anyone who got in his way; he felt an increasing urge to rip flesh and hand the owner their offending body part if anyone so much as looked at him funny.

So of course he was in the foulest of moods when he ran straight into someone on his way out of the gym…

* * *

Mimori Kiryu brutally rubbed her fingers in her eyes as she leaned back in her swivel chair. The lingering, hazy image of a computer screen still danced in her vision despite her closed eyelids. 

_One more try…_

Sitting straight up, she wheeled back in front of the computer and typed furiously on her keyboard, searching the hard drive for a keystroke history. She already knew it wasn't there. She'd spent the last half hour looking for the same thing- the seven hours of data she'd diligently and painstakingly collected and entered since that morning. Critical data that was time-sensitive and absolutely necessary for a deadline that was fast approaching.

_Could I really have been so stupid?_

She groaned in despair. One little button. One little 'save' command could have prevented this veritable nightmare. She _always_ saved. What had happened?

_You idiot, you know what happened. That stupid call…_

Indeed, a call had come in that the Expedition Team sent out that day had met with some resistance; some of the members would be heading straight for the medical bay once they returned to headquarters. _Ryuho had been leading that expedition! What if he was hurt?_ Without another thought Mimori had dropped everything at her desk and raced straight to her station in the Emergency Department.

However, when she reported for triage duty all she was met with were a handful of HOLD officers and Sheris waiting for treatment. No Ryuho. Of course he was fine. He was _always _fine.

Mimori was given bay 3- a whiny HOLD officer who had received a pretty harsh knock on the head after an explosion. As she evaluated him for a concussion, she found that Sheris was being treated in the bay next door. Only a hanging curtain separated the two areas and Mimori could hear everything as the girl related her 'harrowing ordeal' to the tittering, curious nurses.

Via an over-dramatized monologue, Mimori learned that Sheris had gotten caught in a sneak-attack and had lost consciousness, only to awaken in the arms of her 'dreamy' partner, Ryuho. Apparently, instead of pursuing the escaping Alter User and his cohorts, Ryuho had scooped her up, carried her back to the mobile unit and had fussed over her condition the whole ride back. The nosy nurses cooed and gasped in all the right places and Mimori had to stop herself from visibly rolling her eyes at the ridiculous scene. While she knew the girl had to be exaggerating at least a little, she nevertheless recognized the achingly familiar pang of jealously twisting a knot in her stomach.

It turned out that the HOLD officer did indeed have a concussion and she spent an entire hour and a half of time she didn't have treating him. When she was finally able to return to the research lab, she was met with a curious uproar. It seemed that in her absence one of the experiments had malfunctioned and tripped the circuit breaker for the entire lab, cutting power to everything, including the computers. After rebooting her station, Mimori realized with horror that every single entry she'd made through the course of the day had been lost!

And now here she was, trying every desperate little trick she knew of to somehow recover her 'M.I.A.' work. It was hopeless. Everything was gone.

She leaned heavily over her keyboard and drove a fist down on the desk in frustration- BANG! Several nearby technicians jumped in surprise, and in embarrassment she dropped her head in her hand and hid behind the curtain of her hair. There was nothing to be done. It was after hours and she wasn't going to accomplish anything else today. She might as well head to her quarters and curl up into a ball and die. Or at least get some sleep so that she could get up bright and early and repeat the entire tedious project again tomorrow…

"Oh Jeez, what a freaking NIGHTMARE!"

A little outburst actually felt kind of good, but the relief was all too short lived. Sighing resignedly, Mimori pushed away from her desk again and pulled herself out of her chair. On her feet, she felt an all-consuming weight pulling her towards the floor. She hadn't realized how tired she really was. All that stress and frustration, it was finally catching up to her and she hoped she made it all the way to her room before collapsing. She felt totally disgusting. She didn't want to see anyone else today, just wanted a hot bath and some sleep.

Trudging sluggishly to the personnel quarters, she navigated the halls on autopilot, still obsessing over her perfectly hellish day. _One stupid button! Just one! God, what computer didn't have an automatic save program? Even my obsolete PC has auto-recovery. What kind of rinky-dink operation is this anyway?_ She snickered when she realized that the only thing missing from this perfectly horrid day had been Ryuho calling with yet another request for her to return to the Mainland and leave him in peace. No doubt he would call instead of pay her a visit because the mere sight of her would undoubtedly cause him to vomit on his shoes. _Why does he treat me like a leper? Am I really so horrible? He won't even let us be friends…_

And even as she thought these things, she knew that despite her desire for autonomy she still pined for his attentions, however slight. That was why she felt like coming apart at the seams every time she thought of him. _It's entirely his fault for making me rush off to the ED like that… Stupid Ice-man…_

Should she really have been that surprised when she smacked right into him on her way past the gym?

* * *

The jarring collision was off-center, spinning both around as they each fell towards the floor. Ryuho easily caught himself, but Mimori landed hard on her butt. She let out a pained "Ow!" as Ryuho barked out a harsh, "Watch where you're going, damn it!" A hint of familiarity suddenly seized each of them and both froze in place, snapping their mouths closed. He looked down at her sprawled on the floor and, for a moment, completely forgot himself. Staring up at him, she was equally speechless. 

Ryuho couldn't help noticing that at this moment Mimori was somehow different than he'd ever seen her. She was frowning, and she had a harrowed look about her. Her hair was roughly tousled, clinging haphazardly to her cheeks and shoulders as though she had been finger-combing it absentmindedly. And her bottom lip was plump and raw, as if she'd been worrying it between her teeth for the better part of the day. Her rich brown eyes were bottomless, holding both frustration and confusion in their depths. And her fall had dropped her into a strangely enticing pose, like the scantily clad women in those raunchy magazines that were forever falling out of Cougar's locker. The total effect was a devastatingly beautiful girl laid out on the floor before him.

Mimori, on the other hand, was mortified. There he was, the object of her teenage infatuation, standing over her in his workout gear like some Olympian. His skin glistened with a fine sheen of sweat and his wet hair hung alluringly over his merlot-colored eyes. The sweat made his black muscle shirt stick to him in all the right places and his pants sat low on his hips giving her a perfect view of his spectacularly chiseled abdomen. And there she was, sprawled ungracefully on her butt, legs wide and hair all over her head like she'd just been electrocuted. Mimori immediately revised her thoughts from before- _this_ was the perfect ending to her heinously terrible day! Where was a rock to crawl under when you needed one?

After finally recovering himself, Ryuho managed to spit out an automatic yet hollow acknowledgement, "Ms. Kiryu."

Though utterly embarrassed, something about hearing her _last name_ cross his lips yet again made Mimori bristle. Though socially appropriate, her response was cool and entirely unimaginative. "Excuse me; I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Please forgive me."

Realizing that she was apologizing because he had not, Ryuho felt some of his anger return. How dare she make him falter in public like that by… looking so…

"Of course. But in the future you should be more mindful of your surroundings, Ms. Kiryu." The words flew out of his mouth of their own volition. He didn't mean to say it, hadn't known where it came from; however, his pride would hardly let him apologize or take it back.

Hearing the familiar address yet again, she narrowed impatient eyes at him. Yes, of course he had to be a complete asshole right now. What better time? _I'm already looking like a total spazz down here on the floor; why not call me an airhead, too?_ She'd had enough. "I'll do that. But you should be more tolerant of other people's mistakes."

Her deadpan delivery was enough to shock him into silence and she used the opportunity to try and pull herself into a more dignified position, preferably one on her feet. Seeing her struggle for footing, Ryuho's exceptional social upbringing finally kicked in and he reached down to help her stand. As he gently grasped her around the ribs and pulled her up he noticed with an amused delight how light she was. He also couldn't help noticing the tiny span of her waist, and how seductively her hips flared below that as they grazed against his rising thighs.

However, this tiny mental tangent only angered him again and he found himself admonishing her once more. "So where were you headed in such a reckless hurry?"

She had been grateful for his help in standing, not being entirely sure that her weariness would allow her a dignified rise from the floor. His aid had her grasping his slick shoulders and leaning into his neck as he righted her. She rolled her eyes in bliss as she caught the heady smell of exercise and 'man sweat' wafting off of him. It immediately coiled something deep and primal in the pit of her stomach; she found herself lingering entirely too long in the crook of his neck, simply inhaling. However, the sound of his last comment over her shoulder had her frowning for the millionth time that day. _Yes, definitely a contender in the Asshole Olympics! Well, maybe it's time I threw my hat into the ring…_

That was the moment that a devilish little voice whispered an ingenious plot in her ear. Hoping to capitalize on his apparent distaste for a certain blaze-headed speedster, she feigned her most innocent look and replied, "Actually, I was hoping to run into Cougar. Have you seen him?"

Ryuho almost dropped her at that, but had the presence of mind to maintain his hold, though he did pull her away at arm's length. He tried his absolute best not to balk, but the attempt failed miserably. Mimori immediately sensed the wan in his stony façade. _Hmm, that got more of a rise out of him than I thought!_

Instead of answering, Ryuho narrowed suspicious and incredulous eyes at her, "Why are you looking for _him_?" _She couldn't have possibly fallen for those ridiculous lines of his! He can't even get her name right!_

Utterly pleased with her newly acquired ability to ruffle him, she continued the ruse, offering him a somewhat surprised and guilty look as she quietly whispered, "Personal reasons…" She then averted her eyes, batting her eyelashes for good measure. _Take that, you walking Popsicle!_

Ryuho couldn't believe what he was hearing. _Was she serious? Was she actually going to give that libidinous, impulsive hot shot the time of day?_ A new kind of anger rose in him directed at her ridiculous naiveté. Of course, it would be a cold day in hell before he said anything. Why should he care who she saw?

Still, he couldn't quite manage to extract all of the disproval from his voice. "Sorry, I haven't seen him…" _…but when I do I'll be sure to rip his spine through his throat and beat him with it if he so much as looks at you…_

He finally let her go and, having nothing else to do with his hands, crossed them moodily in front of his chest. Though she had delighted at getting a rise out of him, Mimori couldn't help but feel disappointed that she wasn't really accomplishing anything with her silly charade. However, she continued just to spite him. "Oh, well if you do, please tell him I'm looking for him…" _…if you can pull your head out of your ass long enough to acknowledge anyone else's presence, you sexy, self-centered prick…_

He bid her a hasty adieu, sensing an urgent need to retreat. "I'll do that. Good evening, Ms. Kiryu." _I need to get out of here right now and salvage the remains of my dignity…_

She matched his curt and chilly farewell with one of her own. "Ryuho." …_I need to get out of here before I hit him or… Argh!_

Realizing that there was nothing left to say, both finally stepped away from each other. Mimori turned around first and tried to walk away in a manner that did not communicate her weariness from the long day or the seething anger sparked from their brief interaction. It resulted in a sort of quick little sway that she knew must have looked ridiculous. However, Ryuho found himself lingering on the image of her retreating silhouette and mentally cursed himself as he about-faced, then cursed himself again as he realized that he needed to go that same direction to get to his quarters. He ducked a bit too hastily back into the gym, counting down enough time for her to disappear and all the while feeling like a foolish preschooler. When he reappeared, he noted the telltale swing of dark hair as she turned the corner. Barely able to contain his renewed vehemence, he stalked silently to the haven of his apartment.

---------------------------------

To be continued…


	2. Do You Ever Think of Me?

A/N: Hello again! What a great reception for the first chapter! I hope this next one doesn't disappoint. It's not really humorous like the first, rather more reflective and introspective, but I think you'll like it. And if you squint really hard and hold your head just so you'll see that lemon looming on the horizon. Which reminds me…

Warning: This story is for grown folks! There's some mature content in this chapter and those following it so please heed the rating and proceed at your own risk! I don't want messages from irate parents or worse, from small children asking me questions I'd rather not answer. :shudders: Not this chick.

**REPOSTED WITH EDITS!**

Disclaimer: Not mine:tear-stained cheeks:

* * *

**Crash into Me**

**Chapter 2- Do You Think of Me?**

Reaching the relative safety of his quarters, Ryuho sank himself heavily in one of the kitchen chairs, relieved by the solitude now surrounding him. However, his muscles and brain immediately protested the stationary position and he found himself up and pacing soon after. Thoughts, emotions and images swirled around in his mind, crashing against the walls of his skull like bumper cars, each demanding his attention.

He stopped for a moment and took a meditative breath, calling for absolute inner silence. It worked for a spell and he leaned against the table with a small sigh. Grasping the ends of the tape binding his fists, he slowly unwound his hands as he decided what thought to focus on. Pale, clammy skin revealed itself under the bindings and he wondered how long it would be before he was being admonished for the punching bag; the Commander probably wouldn't hear about it until tomorrow. Then again, Jigmar did encourage intensity in his fighters- such a demonstrative show of strength might redeem Ryuho somewhat in the Commander's eyes. He found himself smirking at the irony- garnering praise for a self-conscious loss of control. Only at HOLY.

An audible growl from his midsection prompted a walk into the kitchen and Ryuho found himself staring absently into the fridge before even registering he was really hungry. He pulled out a carton of leftover take-out, deposited it on the counter and dug a fork out of a drawer before noticing his grimy and sticky palms. He thoroughly scrubbed his hands up to the elbows in the sink and, as an afterthought, vigorously splashed the cool water all over his face. He dried it and his hands with a thick kitchen towel and then decided to use the damp cloth to wipe down the grit from his arms and chest. It was hardly a shower, but his growing hunger had fostered a bland indifference. Snagging the carton and the fork, he dropped back down at the kitchen table and tucked in to his cold food.

As he methodically chewed large mouthfuls of pasta, he allowed his mind to slowly return to its tumultuous thoughts. Somehow it wandered straight to a certain raven-haired young woman with whom he'd just had a literal run-in. Something about her today…both familiar and yet not… had snagged his attention without his consent.

As before, he had recognized the gentle, witty little girl from his past. In her more adult features he still saw shadows of the angelic face that had captivated him back then. In his young mind Mimori had been a paradox in the truest sense: whimsical and yet practical, tender and yet socially forward, brilliant and yet adorably naïve. In their too-brief history together she had fluttered quite suddenly into his life, spun him around like a dizzying carnival ride, and then had just as suddenly disappeared, leaving him disoriented and forever changed. However he would never admit how scarring her sudden and unexpected departure had been; perhaps on some subconscious level it might have contributed to his resentment of her presence now.

Still, even amidst the discomfiting memories of her withdrawal from his life, he couldn't help but marvel at how much she'd changed in six years. Obviously she was taller, though he was surprised at how much so. Her limbs had lengthened into longer, more graceful extensions of an elegant, fluid figure and her face had lost the impish roundness of adolescence. Despite all efforts to ignore her, Ryuho couldn't help notice the devastatingly beautiful woman she was growing into.

Of course, his colleagues had noticed her as well. Her arrival had been punctuated with generous chatter about the pretty new researcher they had gotten from the Mainland and how different she was from the other girls at HOLY. Nearly all the guys he knew had been tripping over their own tongues just to talk to her. The brazen ones (like Cougar) had immediately assailed her with gratuitous compliments and invitations to dinner. The more subtle ones had invented crafty ways to try and get her attention or engage her in trivial conversation- anything that would allow them a chance to linger on her alluring eyes and gracious smile. And she was so polite that it was rather easy for them to accomplish their modest tasks or feel absolutely elated when she gently turned them down. Though she probably didn't realize or intend it, her amenable disposition somehow made every guy think that he had a shot with her. Ryuho found the whole thing ridiculous; he repeatedly told himself that he didn't care.

The sound of prongs scraping Styrofoam alerted Ryuho to the fact that he'd inhaled his cold food without even tasting it. He'd been thinking of Mimori through his entire meal- something he hadn't allowed himself to do in a very long time, perhaps years. It had been an ongoing test of his discipline, like giving a child a candy bar but then telling him he couldn't eat it. This thought suddenly prompted him to wonder why he had equated Mimori with a candy bar, or as any kind of prize or reward to be won. Such an idea would imply that he gained pleasure from her, or at least the thought of her, and he was not even remotely ready to acknowledge such a concept. To do so would mean that she was special to him and therefore a potential weakness, that her absence or even the absence of the idea of her could hurt him. Such a thought was unallowable.

And yet Ryuho's mind instantly traveled back to an incident that would be forever ingrained in his memory- Criminal NP3228's sensational escape from HOLY.

The situation had been volatile, but unquestionably under Ryuho's control. The Commander had been kept safe from attack and the criminal had been mere moments away from capture. However one cameo from the newly arrived 'Ms. Kiryu' had affected Ryuho's complete loss of control over the situation. A flash of vulnerability and the fugitive had greedily pounced. Snatching Mimori forcefully from behind, pulling her roughly to him, and hiding behind her shuddering body like it was a shield. Grabbing her and freefalling down hundreds of feet of elevator shaft. Blasting out of the speeding getaway car, causing it to careen out of control and nearly kill her. It had been the cheapest trick, the lowest low. And it had been Ryuho's undoing.

Even now, just recalling that moment instantly tightened something in his chest, making his head float and his blood sizzle. The panic that had raced through him because that man had _touched_ her! The affront to Ryuho's manhood as Kazuma had somehow sensed his and Mimori's deeply concealed connection, laid it bare for all to see, and then used it against him! It was maddening! That day, his hatred for Kazuma the Shell Bullet had easily tripled.

Suddenly fidgety, he felt an instant urge to pace again and pushed himself away from the table. Hoping to burn off the nervous energy, Ryuho dropped to the middle of his living room floor and cranked through a long set of push-ups. When that failed to calm him, he did them one-handed. When even that didn't calm him, he pushed himself up into a handstand and, balancing on widespread palms, began another set of push-ups straight into the air. This position finally brushed against his tension and he focused on breathing and counting.

As he pressed himself up on straight elbows and then lowered himself back down towards the dreary carpeting, he decided that it was an indescribable itch- the bizarre sensation that had slowly yet methodically crawled across his skin and mind, permeating his entire being. He ached, but for what he was uncertain. He sought satisfaction, a resolution of some kind. As his conscious mind invariably drifted back to the enigmatic, raven-haired beauty that had invaded his thoughts tonight, he came to yet another decisive conclusion- picking her up from the floor had been a _huge_ mistake…

Not that he'd really had any other choice. Proper social etiquette dictated that one should always help up a young lady whom you've plowed into and knocked on the floor, regardless of how beautiful she might be or how awkward the situation might turn out. It had to be written down somewhere. But what a dilemma it had created. With only a few notable exceptions he had tried very diligently to not touch her, to not even so much as shake her hand, ever since she had returned to the island. Even if he had to be civil to her in the hallways, there was no need for physical contact between them. Without caring to understand why, he rationalized that it was just simpler that way.

But of course there was to be no peace for Ryuho as far as Mimori was concerned. As soon as he had placed his hands around her body an inexplicable pang had shot through him, running from his toes to his ears, detouring only once to lap his accelerating heart. It was something akin to the sensation one had right before they passed out, he'd imagined. And at that moment he'd been forced to take a really good look at 'Mimori, the maturing young woman'. He'd been avoiding that Mimori like a communicable disease.

There she was, in his arms, in all her mysteriously captivating glory. She exuded a ladylike grace that was absolutely effortless. Honestly, she didn't have to do anything; evident yet understated elegance simply wrapped itself around her like a too-soft mink. Even those androgynous research uniforms couldn't camouflage her feminine softness and undeniable radiance. Feeling her curves settle gently against his palms, Ryuho had to admit that the years had been kind and, though she tried to conceal it beneath drab clothing, puberty had been entirely too generous to the girl. That figure… and that little sway as she'd walked away…

Head swimmy and arms burning, Ryuho reacquainted his feet with the ground and then stood back up to his full height. This brief and reflective time in his room had put him through his emotional paces, revealing certain truths that he'd been subconsciously fighting for a while.

At the center of these discoveries was Mimori, and the most unnerving of them hit him with a shocking sort of clarity: the longer he thought about her, the better he felt. These long moments of imagining her face, her personality, her beauty… with each passing image something tight and volatile slowly uncoiled within him. It hummed in quiet yearning, inviting him to explore beyond the boundaries of his comfort zone. It echoed like a siren's song, threatening to sweep him away into a sea of blissful contentment… the last place he needed to be.

He didn't deserve comfort, didn't deserve peace. He didn't deserve her.

He had not yet paid his debts or avenged his greedy demons. The fugitive Alter that truly obsessed his thoughts and evaded his detection was still at large after all this time. His mother's memory was still tainted by the crime that had taken her life. The Lost Ground was still plagued by acts of terror from renegade Native Alter users, men exactly like the one that had escaped him today. He could not afford a distraction as consuming as Mimori Kiryu. It was impossible.

Sighing in frustration, he felt a familiar agitation threaten to take hold of him once more. Daydreams were a double-edged sword: they allowed you a brief moment of pleasurable escape but the eventual crash back into reality was inevitably that much more painful. This was the reason that he avoided them at all costs.

Suddenly his apartment was too stuffy- he needed some air. A walk through the quiet halls might help settle his nerves. Something about the uniformity of the stark, sterile hallways of HOLY had a calming effect on him. Strong, purposeful strides carried him to his door and he took one last look at his empty room before leaving it behind him.

* * *

Mimori didn't stop walking until she was safely inside of her apartment. Once her front door slid shut she leaned her back against it heavily, grabbing her head in her hands. What in the world had just happened? Why couldn't she have just made it to her quarters without incident? Why did she have to run smack dab into the one person whom she wanted most to avoid? 

Running her fingers through her hair, she was reminded of how harried she must appear. That memory in turn reminded her how very much she had wanted a bath just before her ill-fated impact. Pushing off from the door, she headed straight for the bathroom and plugged the tub. She turned the hot water on full blast and allowed a thin stream of cold to mingle with it as it filled.

As she stood back up her back muscles protested and she leaned against the wall for support. She was suddenly aware of how utterly exhausted she was and allowed herself to slowly slide down the wall into a sitting position on the chilly tiles. Noting that she was again on her butt on the floor in so many minutes brought a fresh wave of embarrassment over her and she dropped her forehead on her knees.

_Life is so unfair… What the heck am I doing here anyway?_

Even as she asked herself that question, she knew the answer. Though she had sworn to her parents repeatedly that a research position at HOLY would be invaluable experience, her primary reason for returning to the Lost Ground had of course been to reunite with Ryuho. Six years ago they had been best friends, and even though they had only known each other for a short time before she had been forced to move away again, he had somehow permanently ingrained himself in her heart. Though she had never gotten back in contact with him, she always wondered what he was doing and what sort of man he'd grown into. She could admit now that she'd had a crush on him- her first; that had been a decisive factor in her wish to see him again.

She had played out many scenarios of their reunion in her imagination, but none of them had even come close to the chilly reception she had received on her first day at HOLY. And no matter how much she pressed him, she was unable to dent this strange wall he had erected between them. The more she encountered it and tried to sneak past, the more creatively he shored up his defenses, and the more frustrated she became with him. In the end she relented into giving him his space for the time being; she hoped that he would work out whatever issues he had with her on his own. However, after today's little run-in, she was forced to confront the possibility that he might never warm back up to her. Such a thought was utterly heart-breaking.

Hearing the cadence of the water change as it spilled into a nearly full tub, she leaned over and shut off the tap. Hot steam wafted off the water's surface as it settled into a smooth stillness; Mimori deftly slid her fingers in to gauge the temperature while trying not to cause any ripples. Instantly they burned and ached with the heat- it was perfect.

Energy somewhat renewed by anticipation, she hastily kicked her shoes off and pulled herself to her feet. A quick yank and a long vertical stretch relieved her of her uniform tunic and in a playful impulse she tossed it across the length of the bathroom. Soon the rest of her clothes and undergarments were sailing across the small room to create a messy pile on the far end of the floor. The cool tiles against her bare feet sent a shiver up her legs and she sought relief by stepping straight into the steaming waters beside her.

Her soles and toes protested the near-scalding temperature but she ignored them and continued to sink slowly into the tub. The next resistance offered by her body came when the skin of her buttocks hit the water, but she fought against her reflexes and finally sank up to her shoulders. Her muscles screamed at the intense yet familiar sensation and she could feel her heartbeat throb in her chest and pelvis. She allowed herself to acclimate for a moment, and then scooted forward so that she could sink up to her chin. Liquid heat rushed against her ears, creating a throbbing echo that filled her brain with a raucous and yet simultaneously soothing clamor. She could feel her submerged hair dance around her back and shoulders and she let out a deep and satisfying exhalation.

She laid there and soaked, ignoring the chill of her knees sticking out of the water and instead concentrated on the feel of her muscles slowly unclenching and absorbing the therapeutic warmth from the surrounding water. Every nerve of her skin tingled and she hugged herself beneath the surface. Her fingers brushed the skin of her ribs and suddenly the memory of Ryuho's hands there stole back into her consciousness. She placed her hands where his had been and closed her eyes.

Against the dark curtain of her eyelids he appeared once more, clad in his workout gear and glistening with fresh sweat; her breath hitched in the back of her throat at the enticing memory. Over the weeks she had noticed how swoon-worthy he was in his sharply-tailored HOLY uniform, but _this_… this small change in wardrobe had revealed an immaculate spectacle that her eyes had simply not been prepared for. A tall, lithe body rippling with compact muscles chiseled beneath taut, tanned skin. Every angle, every sinew, stood in stark relief as she'd looked up at him; he'd grown up into some sort of Adonis! And his hands… so articulate and yet so strong. When he'd held her up she had noticed that his fingers had nearly spanned the width of her back, and he had supported her so easily with just his arms, as if she weighed nothing at all. She doubted she would have minded if he'd simply thrown her over his shoulder and walked off with her.

_Get a grip, Mimori! You're acting like some boy-crazy groupie…_ Catching her breath, she slid forward even further and dunked her entire head under the surface, attempting to drive her wayward and less-than-innocent thoughts from her mind. Hoping to distract herself with a menial task, she reached for the shampoo and began working a huge dollop into her scalp. She pulled the suds through the length of her slick hair and then ducked to rinse again. She massaged in a liberal amount of conditioner and then piled all of her hair on top of her head.

She had too much hair. It was too long to the point of being impractical. And boring- jet black- the absence of color. Not bright and vibrant like Sheris'. Sheris had perfect hair- short and cute, playful yet utilitarian. Perfect hair. Perfect everything.

Why else would she be Ryuho's partner? The Commander would only have paired him with the best, right? And after watching the girl for the past few weeks, though Mimori personally found her quite annoying, she'd realized that the flighty little girl was actually a formidable young woman. She was smart and intuitive. She could hold her own on field expeditions and she could hunt down fugitive inners and Native Alters just like the boys. She possessed great ingenuity and proved quite the strategist on her missions. Her Alter power was mysterious and classified.

And if all these things weren't enough, Mimori had to admit that she was also unbearably beautiful. Those long legs and that shapely figure were impossible to miss, especially when her uniform left so little to the imagination. Really, what fifteen year old girl looked like _that_? As much as Mimori wanted her to be a bubblehead with more boobs than brains, she had to admit that Sheris was the perfect package. And seeing her with Ryuho, well it was obvious that the two shared a history. Was it more significant than the one she shared with him? With a girl like that around, why would Ryuho give a nerd like her a second glance?

Having thoroughly depressed herself, Mimori finally noticed that her bath water had cooled considerably. Sitting up to pull the plug, she felt cool air hit her naked chest. Unwilling to end her soak that way, she turned the tap back on and started the shower. In no time scalding water was raining down on her and she stood up and rinsed her hair. She lathered up a sponge with a silky soap and coated her entire body with the warm suds. Something about the foamy bubbles sliding slowly down her skin had her daydreaming again and as she rinsed off, she closed her eyes once more and imagined that her hands were someone else's.

Slim, hesitant fingers lifted the heavy curtain of hair off of her shoulders before settling firmly on the sides of her neck. Long digits stretched up to run along her jaw line and then trailed slowly down her throat, finger pads seductively tracing the high prominence of each collar bone as they headed for the tops of her shoulders. From there slick palms trailed down the length of her arms to her wrists before settling firmly against her stomach. A curious thumb brushed over her bellybutton, briefly interrupting the thin rivulet of water diverting around her navel, before each side of her waist was grasped in a firm hold. Fingers spread wide against her sides before directing themselves towards the small of her back. One hand wandered playfully over a wet buttock and squeezed while the index finger of another drew a firm path down her spine to her tailbone.

Soon both of her buttocks were being kneaded and fondled until the hands finally moved on to rise up the damp plane of her mid-back. From there fingers followed the path of her middle ribs around to her front until palms were pressing flat against her upper torso, just under her ample chest. They pivoted with an aching slowness against her slick skin until she could feel light touches ghosting against the sides of her breasts. The falling cascade from the shower teased her sensitive flesh and, for a moment, all was still until a thumb flicked across a tender nipple. Her breath hitched in her throat as a little spark jumped beneath the skin at the contact. The touch was repeated and then the tiny peek was pinched and rolled with great force while the rest of the curved mound was lifted and pressed against her ribs. Soon her other breast and nipple were receiving equal treatment and Mimori shuddered at the heightened sensations.

The stimuli were cumulative and soon the tiny shocks were migrating down to a spot below her belly. Then a hand started trailing down her torso, nails dragging down the smooth, wet skin of her stomach and abdomen before settling heavily over the space between her legs. Warm digits searched her heat, tracing minute circles along the way. Finding their mark, they dove within her just as the thumb traced over her most tender spot. Overcome, she reflexively clenched her thighs together driving the fingers deeper. The hand on her breast twisted and abused the supple flesh and she moaned in pain and pleasure.

Unfortunately, in the spirit of Mimori's horrible day, even her spontaneous fantasy was to be disrupted before truly begun. The showerhead suddenly peppered her skin and face with icy needles and Mimori yelped, nearly losing her balance. She scrambled to the back of the tub and then jumped out altogether. Before she knew it she was standing in the middle of her bathroom floor, naked, sopping wet and utterly frustrated in a whole new kind of way.

Somehow sensing the poetic justice of the whole situation, she sighed aloud and grudgingly wrapped her shivering body in a bath sheet. She reached into the shower and turned off the water, which had now miraculously returned to piping hot. For a half-second she considered jumping back in before deciding not to press her luck. Instead she trudged to her bedroom, vigorously rubbing her skin with the corners of her towel.

A few minutes of puttering around found her dressed for sleep in a tank top, fresh panties, and tiny shorts that had once been a pair of sweatpants before they shrank. At least she could sleep in her favorite clothes tonight. As she roughly towel-dried her hair, flashbacks of her dreadful day put her in mind of a light snack before bed; after so much stress she deserved a little something sweet. If in the spirit of the day's events fate decided to strike her dead tonight, she would have at least enjoyed her last bowl of 'chocolate chip cookie dough fudge insanity'.

Draping the towel on her head, she slid into her ridiculous pink bunny slippers (a gift from her mom) and headed into the kitchen. She fixed herself a bowl of ice cream and then tongued the spoon clean as she put everything away. However, just as she was about to take a real bite of her delectable treat, there was a knock on her door.

_You've got to be kidding me… _Fate was indeed being a fickle bitch. She allowed herself one last resolute sigh before hustling out of the kitchen and dropping her ice cream on the table as she passed it. Remembering her wet hair, she vigorously rubbed the towel on her head as she headed to the door. It dawned on her who must be on the other side- Ryuho must have indeed run into Cougar and relayed her fictitious 'message'. _Perfect…_ Now she'd have a rambling Casanova trying to put the moves on her tonight. Suddenly noticing her scant clothing, she diverted her course to pass by her easel and snagged her smock, an old dress shirt of her dad's that she'd 'liberated' from the give-away pile years ago. She hastily pulled it on and, not having time to fasten the buttons, clenched the top of the shirt in one hand while reaching for the door controls with the other.

_Just get rid of him!_ She was in no mood for Cougar's aggressive attentions tonight and wanted to head him off before he even got started. As the door slid open she launched straight into her excuse for the abrasive suitor, "It's really late, Cougar, and I've had a hellish… Ryuho!"

-------------------------

To be continued…


	3. You Oughta Know

A/N: And hello again! I'm coming back through and minding the booboos in each chapter so when you see that **REPOSED WITH EDITS!** line you'll know I was here. Now my chapters should be smooth and shiny! So read and enjoy the freshness!

And please heed the Warning! It's not explicit yet but it's kinda steamy in here and a bit… umm… aggressive. So there ya go. Thanks to all who reviewed! A virtual pint of 'chocolate chip cookie dough fudge insanity' for those who send me another! Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: Not mine :crying in my ice cream:

* * *

**Crash into Me**

**Chapter 3- You Oughta Know**

As Ryuho paced the long halls of HOLY his mind still refused to give him peace, instead still stubbornly clinging to thoughts of his former best friend. Why was he so obsessed with her tonight? Why couldn't he just put Mimori out of his mind once and for all? Why couldn't he think of anything, anyone else?

He mentally cycled through the list of other HOLY personnel and sighed when he paused at his partner, Sheris. She liked him, he knew. It was so obvious, the way she was always flirty and playful when they were supposed to be working. Ever since puberty had kicked into overdrive for the girl, her exploration of her burgeoning womanhood had become an exasperating complication. She had changed her uniform a few months ago to flatter her developing figure but Ryuho had considered it highly impractical. And now she was constantly posing and primping, becoming obsessed with her looks to the point where he'd had to admonish her about it. Much to his chagrin she had merely interpreted that as a positive sort of attention from him, making her even more flirtatious and solicitous. _She could learn a lot from Mimori; despite her good looks that girl was always working, making her position at HOLY her top priority…_

Ryuho practically smacked himself in the head, realizing that his willful mind had redirected itself back to the 'Kiryu heiress' yet again. He had to stop thinking about her or he wouldn't get any rest tonight. Maybe he was thinking about her because he hadn't really apologized for knocking her down; he made a mental note to stop by her station tomorrow and give a brief yet honest apology. He insisted to himself that he was not going to ogle her; there were plenty of guys to do that for him. Perhaps he'd find a way to gently hint at Cougar's numerous female conquests- someone should warn her about his questionable intentions and colorful history with the women of HOLY. Surely he could do that without appearing jealous…

His hand reached up and rapped lightly on the door in front of him. The entranceway was somehow familiar, but then again all the doors to the personal quarters looked alike. Wait, whose door was he knocking on?

Before Ryuho had time to step away and blend back into the hallway the door slid open revealing a towel, a white men's shirt and unbelievably long, bare legs. His eyes hit the bunny slippers just as an angelic voice uttered "It's really late, Cougar, and I've had a hellish… Ryuho!"

Bewildered scarlet eyes snapped up to meet warm yet startled mahogany ones as Ryuho finally realized what he'd done. Mimori's door… he'd walked right to her quarters.

_You blithering idiot! What possessed you to come here?_ However, Ryuho stopped chastising himself long enough to blurt out a lame explanation for his presence, "I… came here to apologize… for earlier."

"Oh, um… that's alright. It was my fault, really." Mimori was fighting hard not to stare but was losing that particular battle. Again remembering her state of dress, she clutched her shirt tighter in her fist and quickly snatched the towel off her head. Long, damp hair swung up in her face and a few stray strands stuck to her cheeks. Hand still full of towel, she ran a nervous finger down each side of her jaw in turn to tame the errant locks. She was shocked when she could just make out Ryuho's gaze slowly trailing the path of her hand. _What's going on? Why is he standing in my doorway staring at me like a stalker?_ When he made no move to reply or walk away, she hesitantly offered, "Would you like to come in?"

Her question suddenly snapped him back to reality and he realized what he'd been doing. He hastily replied, "I should be going," but somehow his feet refused to budge. She hesitantly stepped out of the doorway and he found himself walking into her apartment without his brain's permission.

Mimori noticed that he still had his workout clothes on and fought the urge to close the distance between them in order to sniff him. At least he wasn't sweaty anymore- thank goodness for small favors. She walked deeper into her apartment to give herself a bit of space and had to hide her surprise when he followed her. Needing to busy herself, she inquired, "Would you like a glass of water?" and hastily retreated towards the kitchen, intent on fixing herself one regardless of his answer. She dropped her towel across the back of a chair and sighed with relief when he uttered a quiet 'thank you' to her retreating back. Maybe his mouth was as dry as hers…

He followed her as far as the table and then pulled out a chair as he proceeded with his impromptu apology. "I'm sorry I knocked you down, I wasn't looking where I was going." He heard glasses clink and the sound of the fridge door opening. "And I'm sorry I yelled at you… I was having a bad day."

Her disembodied voice reached out to him from the kitchen, "Me, too. It would seem there's a lot of that going around." It was easier to talk to him when she couldn't see him. She settled into a more conversational tone as she continued, bustling around the counter with her task. "We had an outage in the lab and I lost all my data for the day. It was exasperating. What brought on your bad day? Was it the field expedition today? Some of the team ended up in the ED. Is, um… is Sheris fine?"

His voice was relaxed as he replied offhandedly, "I'm not sure. You'd probably know better than I would; I haven't seen her since we got back." _What a strange question… why would she ask me about Sheris? _His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he recalled his partner's 'damsel-in-distress' routine after he'd revived her, "Did she say something about the operation?"

Mimori silently winced, knowing that she'd just talked herself into a strange little corner. She'd brought up Sheris only to gauge his response to her name. But did she really want him thinking of his beautiful partner while he was in _her_ apartment? She tailored her answer rather carefully, "She just said that you had saved her instead of pursuing the Alter user. It sounded like his escape wasn't your fault…"

He sighed audibly, "It was. I underestimated him and he got the jump on me." Why did he tell her that? He never talked about missions with anyone, especially not someone outside of his team. Had he really gotten that comfortable here already?

Mimori sauntered into the living room with two glasses and put one down on the table in front of Ryuho. He nodded his thanks as he suddenly felt the need to stare a bit too intently at the water in front of him, refusing to acknowledge the inordinate amount of naked leg walking by or the fact that from certain angles the hem of her long men's shirt made it look like she didn't have any shorts on. He did notice that her bunny slippers were now curiously absent, so that she was gliding about on dainty little bare feet. He took a large gulp from his drink as she settled in the chair catty-corner to his with her own glass and looked up at her face as she leveled kind eyes on him. "You're being too hard on yourself. I think what you did was admirable given the circumstances."

He raised an eyebrow at her, watching as she took a small sip of her water. He hadn't thought of it that way. What if he'd chased the Alter user and Sheris had really been hurt? Would it have been worth the capture? Was detaining a single Native Alter user really worth the safety of his team?

Mimori watched him consider her comment and felt a tiny triumph at her insight. She could feel him slowly letting down the outer layers of his guard and she wondered if perhaps she might get the opportunity to re-cultivate some of the bonds that had long been untended between them. She had so many questions about the strapping young man sitting in front of her: How did he really see her? Had she misinterpreted his opinion of her? Was there perhaps a part of him that still cared for her after all these years? Was the chilly demeanor he typically directed towards her merely a front? And if so, then what hid beneath?

Ryuho watched Mimori smile to herself over her glass and wondered at the source, vaguely hoping that he might be the cause. It was a strange and rather comforting sensation to be sitting here with her, jovially sipping and chatting about their days in comfortable clothing and without a conference room fool of onlookers. He was free to smile at her and linger on the one that he gave him in return. Of course he didn't do that, but just knowing that he could felt rather nice. It was comfortable, and he wondered if this was what friends and couples did when they 'hung out'. Then again, maybe it was too comfortable…

Remembering her strange greeting at the door, he shifted the conversation. He was curious about who else would be dropping by her apartment so late after hours. "You thought I was Cougar; were you expecting him tonight?"

Her eyes widened and a hint of a blush crept into her cheeks. Though her shy smile remained in place, she avoided his gaze as she spoke, "I thought maybe you'd seen him and relayed my message…"

_Oh please!_ Like he'd give Cougar a reason to pester the girl any more than he already did. The man was practically harassing her on a daily basis as it was. Still, hadn't she been in the process of shooing him when she opened the door? "…But you were going to turn him away…"

She heard the mix of triumph and arrogance in his voice and wrinkled her nose. He thought he'd clued in on her little ruse! Well, she wasn't ready to give up the game just yet. "I, um… I'm not exactly dressed for company… I was going to ask him for a rain check for lunch tomorrow." She watched Ryuho's eyes darken at her reply and mentally smiled in satisfaction.

A streak of irrational possessiveness shot through him; he was at a loss to comprehend what possible interest she could have in Cougar, of all people. They had nothing in common, as far as he knew, other than perhaps an insatiable craving for heavily caffeinated drinks. His brain grappled with images of the two of them together and he felt his composure slipping away. He grasped insistently for it, unconsciously falling back into his clipped manner as he sought the most socially polite way to discourage her peeking interests. "Ms. Kiryu, perhaps you're unaware of his predilection for aggressively pursuing the young women of this organization. He's particularly fond of new faces who have yet to hear of his reputation."

_Aha!_ She had been right about his distaste for the swift, audacious officer. But was he cautioning her out of spite or jealously? Her mind hummed at the possibility of the latter; she had to find out. She also desired a little payback for the untimely resurfacing of her surname again. "Really? That's strange because some of the girls told me that he was actually quite charming and debonair. He's supposedly very well read and seems to be a rather engaging conversationalist. I thought it might be nice to have someone to talk to." Yes, that sounded innocent enough. She wanted him to understand that if he was interested, he'd better speak up before someone else beat him to it. _Let's see what he says to that!_

Ryuho leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of him. She must be joking! Can't she see what a hopeless womanizer he is? He's been through an entire wing of nurses since she's been here! His reply was abrupt and impatient, "Unfortunately I doubt his agenda will be so innocent. I would advise you to be cautious around him, Ms. Kiryu. You don't know him like I do."

She bristled at his authoritative tone and sterile response. He thinks he can just scare me off like that? Where's his backbone? And we're back to 'Ms. Kiryu' again, hmm? Does he really think he can tell me what to do? Her nervous displeasure had her standing up, unconsciously seeking a more commanding stance; his cocky attitude needed to take a hike. "Really? I didn't think you knew anyone around here like that…"

Ryuho blinked in shock. That remark cut deeper than she realized; she had no right to say something like that, to attack him socially. However, he refused to lose his cool in front of her again, matching her cool tone with his own. "Well, I could be wrong about him. Perhaps he 'charmed' all of those women into his bed with his 'engaging conversation'. Anything's possible."

_He's patronizing me!_ Anger steadily rose within her at his callous comments and superior posturing. She was wrong about his stony façade being merely a front; he was as sensitive as a dissected cadaver, and just as sociable. Well, she'd had enough of it! Mimori stepped away from the table and closed in on him, intent on finally giving him a piece of her mind tonight. "It sounds to me like you're jealous. Does his popularity bother you that much? Or is it the fact that he has real passion- something you probably wouldn't recognize if it kicked you in your stuffy, snobbish ass?"

She was standing over him, hands firmly planted on jutting hips. In her huff she'd forgotten all about her 'smock' and it fell open, revealing the low cut of her tank and a too-generous portion of heaving chest. However, even that sight was not enough to distract Ryuho from the harsh words that spilled so venomously out of her mouth. Her accusations had really wounded him, stabbing at one of his deepest insecurities; she wasn't going to get away with that…

He rose to his feet and leaned forward, causing her to instinctively back away from him. His voice was cold and accusing, "This isn't about jealousy, Ms. Kiryu. I didn't know you'd be so easily won over by a flashy smile and clichéd pick up lines. I thought you had more common sense."

Mimori withered under his intense gaze; the teen's muscles bunched under his skin, clenching and unclenching, as he bore into her with intense eyes. But suddenly she recognized his intimidation tactics and grew even angrier; he was trying to bully her into relenting! _Not this girl, not tonight! _And she straightened back up to her full height. She didn't care how gorgeous he was right now- for the second time that day she'd had enough of him!

"This isn't about common sense; this is about you trying to run my life like I'm one of your little soldiers! You know what? Get out! That's the last time you get to call me 'Ms. Kiryu' tonight! I don't need some lecture from you like I'm a child! I'll go out with whomever I want!"

Throwing him out? Did she think she was going to win the argument by getting rid of him? She was acting like a prissy little princess, putting on superior airs when he knew she was just another spoiled, manipulative rich girl, getting her way by flaunting her family's money and power. It was how she had weaseled her way into a position at HOLY, and it was why all the men were now panting like ravenous dog for her attention. He wasn't going to let her pull that act with him; he'd knock her down a peg by whatever means necessary…

"Fine! It seems I misjudged you, _Ms. Kiryu_. Perhaps you're not meant to be anything more than a notch in his belt! You're not as innocent as you pretend to be, are you? Apparently you're willing to spread your legs for any sleaze willing to sniff up your skirt!"

:SMACK:

* * *

The sound of Mimori's hand connecting with Ryuho's face echoed in the silence of her apartment, reverberating off the walls and against his skin. She was _shocked_- shocked that she had actually smacked him, but also shocked that he'd said such nasty things to her. However, she was so livid that nothing could make her back down at this point. She narrowed hateful eyes at him; he had crossed an un-crossable line. Her jaw was set so tight that it trembled when she finally gained the wherewithal to speak; when she did, it was barely above the volume of a whisper, "How _dare_ you question my honor… You're nothing but a _coward_, you self-righteous son of a _bitch_!"

The words were quietly spat at him, snatched from thin air and hurled like tiny projectiles. However, it was her last word that instantly triggered something primal and explosive deep in Ryuho's core. _My mother… she called my mother…_

Suddenly blinded by an incendiary rage he snatched Mimori's outstretched wrist and crushed it painfully in a constricting fist. She yelped in pain and tried to yank it back but he held fast, arm shaking with an overwhelming anger. How could she say something like that? He thought she cared, thought she understood… But he was wrong.

Mimori grabbed at the vise-like fingers encircling her wrist, desperation rising as his grip only seemed to tighten. She began demanding her release through gritted teeth, "Let me go… Ryuho, what the hell…? I said let me go…!" Anxiety escalated as she pulled all of her weight against her trapped arm, but it was no use; he wouldn't budge.

"Take it back."

Confused and frightened, she looked up at him with incredulous eyes but never stopped tugging against him. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Take it back, Mimori."

She searched her memory of the last critical seconds that had passed and suddenly the gravity of her literal words and how he'd interpreted them finally sank in. _His mom…_

However, instead of apologizing, her face clouded with a look of disgusted disbelief. "Are you _CRAZY?_ You _know_ that's not what I meant!" and she renewed a more frantic struggle.

Ryuho's body was deceptively still except for the arm locking her wrist in his grasp, but the edge in his voice sliced at her, demanding submission. "I don't care what you meant. Just take it back!"

Utterly frustrated with her lack of progress on her trapped hand, she relented half-heartedly. "Fine! But you know I loved your mom! I have nothing against that woman other than the fact that she bore the most conceited, arrogant, frigid ASSHOLE to ever walk the earth! Now unhand me, you psychotic bully!"

Ryuho released her wrist but grabbed her shoulders in an angry, bruising grip as he pushed her backwards. "Just watch it! You're in no position to insult me, _princess_! Your mouth is going to get you in serous trouble tonight!"

She was utterly powerless in his grasp and resented her frailty. "Don't call me that! Don't you dare! Rrrrgggghhh! I HATE YOU!" Mimori stumbled backwards under his forceful onslaught until her backside banged painfully against the table. Both of the water glasses tipped over and crashed, splashing shards and their liquid contents across the smooth wood surface. He pinned her there and she writhed violently in an attempt to free herself. She worked her arms up between their bodies and banged her fists as hard as she could against his chest, but he simply shifted his weight ensuring that she remained trapped. "Arrrrggghhh! I never want to see you again, you MONSTER!"

Her last comment froze him in place and his grip on her arms suddenly tightened even more. A cold sneer curled his lips and he hissed at her through clenched teeth, "So I'm a _monster_? Is that what you think? Did you come all this way to be with a monster, _princess_?" He shook her once and then captured her eyes in an icy stare. "Did the 'Beauty' think I was going to be her 'Beast'?"

Hearing his vindictive words Mimori stopped struggling, but pressed her lips in a tight line as she defiantly stared back up at him. Her tailbone was grating against the table behind her and her back ached from the awkward angle at which he held her. Her arms screamed beneath his fingers and she felt tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. She refused to let them fall; she would not cry for him, not like this. She could smell him again and agonized at how her body wanted to respond even in the midst of her fear. Everything was just too damned confusing…

Seeing her defiance as she purposefully curbed her building tears, Ryuho boiled with renewed fury. He pulled her hard against his chest and flattened himself against her in order to trap her once pounding fists between their bodies. He pushed his face into hers so that their noses were almost touching as he bent her even farther back over the table, continuing his torturous taunts. "You came all this way to see me, didn't you? But now you want _him_? You're going to jump into his bed because I wouldn't play 'house' with you…?"

Slithering between clenched teeth, her command came out hollow and desperate. "Stop it…"

He saw a familiar emotion flash in her eyes and through the cloud of his rage he absently appraised their precarious position. Her forearms were pressed in the hollow between her breasts so that the round peeks were smashed against his pecs. His throbbing groin was pressed against her abdomen and her shirt had ridden up, exposing her belly. His left thigh was pressed between her bare legs, causing her shorts to creep up to the crease of her hip. He had her trapped; she had no choice but to listen to whatever he had to say. But more importantly, she was responding to the contact between their bodies- it would be her weakness in this battle and he would assert that strategic advantage while he had it.

"Were you just going to string him along, hoping I'd notice you?" He started moving slowly against her as he spoke, gauging any little reaction she made. "Or were you going to go through with it? Are you so desperate for a man's touch that you'd give it up to someone like _him_?"

This time, her voice faltered and cracked, "Stop it…"

However, he sensed her wavering resolve. He'd felt it countless times before in battle, when his opponent was skirting the edge of surrender, and he longed to push her over it. "Was he going to be your first? Or have you been busier than I thought since you've been gone? Giving the whores a run for their money?" At this he harshly drove his thigh up between her legs, lifting her body up several centimeters against the table. Her eyes widened and she sucked in a ragged breath, making a high noise in the back of her throat. That little sound practically doubled his growing bulge pressed against her stomach, but he persisted, delivering the decisive final blow. "…Or were you hoping that I would be your first?"

She cracked. Her eyes suddenly shot open and a single tear dripped down her pale cheek. "Bastard..."

As she said it, a puff of breath ghosted across his lips and he momentarily lost himself in his victory and the sensation of their bodies pressed so tightly together. He was so distracted that he never saw her ready herself, just noted the sudden change in balance a bit too late as she braced her foot against his leg and harshly twisted her body against his, launching to the side. She had enough power to spin herself away from the table, but not enough momentum to pull out of his iron-tight grip. They both pitched to the side and he crashed down solidly on top of her.

* * *

For a moment Mimori was stunned by the pain, having landed roughly on her butt and back again. She kept her eyes shut until she felt his body shift over hers. However, when she opened her eyes, she saw that he had only lifted up off her upper torso; the rest of him was still draped heavily over her. She realized that in the fall his hand had snaked back to cradle her head- it had never hit the floor. She looked up into crimson orbs and was shocked when she saw only an immeasurable sadness.

Ryuho had gone too far- he knew it. She had burrowed beneath his defenses in a matter of mere minutes without even realizing it and his reaction had been so violent and malicious that he scarcely recognized himself. Now he didn't know how to undo it. He'd never had to worry about undoing anything on the battle field, but he'd been so caught up in her infuriating taunts that he lashed out. He knew he must have cut her just as deeply as she had him, but now they were both just a wounded heap on the floor. His hair hung loosely around his face but he could still see her eyes; they never left his lips as he finally spoke, "Do you really hate me?"

Mimori was totally confused. He was suddenly a whole different person, injured and self-conscious instead of vicious and menacing. His voice had sounded so small just now. Without even having to think about it, she shook her head slowly. Hate him? Despite what she had said she could never hate him, even after everything that had happened. Surely he could see that. "No…"

Still holding her head, he earnestly searched her eyes for evidence of the truth and perhaps even a hint of forgiveness. Seeing at least the former, he was imbued with a hesitant optimism and pressed further. "Was I right?" When she furrowed her brows at this new question he broke eye contact, focusing intently on the exposed tank strap tugging against her shoulder before clarifying. "About wanting me… as your first… Was I right?"

She closed her eyes and exhaled softly. "Get off of me…"

He shifted his weight again but he didn't obey her. He needed to know, needed to know how she felt about him, why she had returned after all this time. If it had been for him… When she opened her eyes once more he was waiting, again capturing them in order to gauge her sincerity in their depths. He probed further, "Was I?"

This time liquid effortlessly welled in her eyes, instantly pushing a single tear out of the corner. She couldn't believe he was going to make her say it, make her expose her deepest desires to him like that. But she just didn't have the energy to protest any longer. "Yes…"

The edge of his lips twitched and before she could process his response, he lifted her cradled head and crashed his mouth like a raging torrent down onto hers.

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To be continued…


	4. If Only for One Night

A/N: Hi everyone! You guys must like ice cream; have you guys seen the AWESOME reviews that you've left for this story? I'm totally amazed! I could sit there and scroll through the review page for hours blushing and admiring how creative and generous all the posts are!

This chapter has been** REPOSTED WITH EDITS!** Two more chapters left! The last one has the naughtiest bits in. Again, I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint (heavy limey goodness!); I've been so focused on getting to the good stuff that I'm worried I've sacrificed some of the content and polish. I've tried to fix it up a bit- with any luck you'll like it anyway. So read on and enjoy! And then review and tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: Not mine :sobs, blows snotty nose on your shirt sleeve:

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**Crash into Me**

**Chapter 4- If Only for One Night**

Ryuho's insistent and consuming assault on her mouth had caught her by surprise, but not unprepared. Mimori had been ready to kiss him ever since she had seen him her first day at HOLY, standing up on that observation deck in his crisp uniform. Now she eagerly matched his ardor, moving her lips hungrily against his as he plundered the warm depths of her mouth. Their connection was raw and needy, as though they'd never get enough of each other no matter how long they kissed, their union an indistinguishable tangle of lips, tongues and teeth as his blanketing weight pinned the entire length of her body to the floor. Though her arms were still trapped between their heaving chests, Mimori's legs opened wide beneath him and she wrapped one long limb around his hip, the sole of her foot curving against the back of his pants. The material scuffed against her bare inner thigh and she tightened it against him in response.

Ryuho felt her open up and then clench against him and instinctively deepened the contact between them, delving even further into her mouth until his tongue completely filled her. He kissed her like she was his oasis in a barren desert, greedily gulping up every last drop of her as if at any moment she might evaporate into an intangible apparition. As he explored every surface of her mouth, licking against the smoothness of her teeth and tonguing the ridges of her palate, he flexed the fingers cradling and supporting her head, reveling in the feel of her long, slick hair as it slipped and spilled between his digits. He massaged her scalp, dragging nails against skin as he pulled her head close to maintain the seamless connection between their lips.

And even as common sense blasted a red alert inside his brain, Ryuho was unable to heed it, hopelessly lost in the intoxicating beckon of her wanton body. He felt every part of her reach for him, begging him for his touch and attention. The hand not tangled in her hair explored every centimeter of the leg wrapped around him that he could reach, fingers squeezing the toned skin before sneaking beneath the edge of her cutoffs to graze the lace hem of her panties. He longed to get closer, to feel even more of her skin against his own. Even draping himself over her entire body wasn't enough; he wanted to swim in her, to inhale her into his flesh like a delicious vapor and keep her within him forever.

Mimori's hunger for the man on top of her was just as obsessive. Though her arms were still trapped between their bodies, she nevertheless managed to twist questing fingers into the neckline of his shirt in a redundant effort to pull him closer. She longed to free her hands; they practically itched to explore the rest of the rock-solid form spread so liberally over her. She kissed him like he was her anchor in a lashing storm, clinging desperately to his startling yet ardent passion even as a livid sea of impending reality threatened to carry her away. She had been starved of his attentions for so long, habitually neglected and yet somehow sustaining herself on a scant diet of cheerful memories and indulgent fantasies. Now within the whirlwind of their kiss she was hopelessly swept up in the tide of his strange yearning, blissfully drowning in an all-consuming desire.

As feelings of elation and satiation washed over her she surrendered to the overwhelming emotions, allowing her mind to drift away atop waves of pure contentment. The edges of her vision darkened behind her closed eyes and she melted into a puddle of pure joy.

As he ravished Mimori beyond decency, Ryuho felt her mouth slacken and her body wilt beneath his. He nervously broke the suction between their lips to assess her state, only to find her unresponsive in his cradling arms. As he pulled them both up off the floor, straddling the leg still trapped beneath his, he found her limp and listless, head heavy and limbs spilling to the side. Ryuho suddenly realized that in his blind determination to dominate and possess her he had been leaning nearly his full weight on her, practically squishing Mimori's chest and stomach. In the heat of their passion she had gotten so caught up as to lose her breath and faint without the slightest hint of protest. Indeed, she almost seemed to welcome her impending swoon as if symbolically accepting even the excruciating physical demands of his desires.

Panicked and winded himself, he gently patted her paling cheek as he shook her in his arms. "Mimori! Are you alright? Wake up… please…"

She soon stirred, head lolling as a satisfied sigh escaped her throat. Resisting the urge to crush her in a bruising yet relieved embrace, Ryuho fanned her with the hand not supporting her head and back. "Mimori… just take slow, deep breaths… You fainted, but you're going to be alright…"

As he panted to catch his own breath, Ryuho watched as she rolled hazy, content eyes open at him. He smiled down at her but then immediately froze when Mimori wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself into his startled lips, intent on renewing their feverish kiss. Succumbing for only a moment, he came to his senses and pulled her away from his mouth, grabbing her beneath her armpits.

"Mimori stop! You have to breathe!"

She tugged against his protesting arms, seeking to regain his lips. When he held her fast she redoubled her efforts, determination evident in her husky whispers and arm strength, "I don't want to breathe… I just want to kiss you…"

Her words shocked him long enough to earn her another few seconds against his mouth, but he soon hauled her off again, needing an explanation. "What?... What are you talking about? Just take a minute and catch your breath!"

Her face fell into one of desperation. "I don't have a minute, Ryuho! Don't you get it? If we stop then the logic we've been outrunning will finally catch up to us! I'll realize how utterly inappropriate it is to be ravaging you in my apartment with barely any clothes on and you'll realize how incredibly irrational it is for you to be here kissing me with your hand up my shorts when you're supposed to be pretending to despise me! Then you'll leave me here alone in the middle of my floor pining for you and I'll let you go because I'll want to be selfless and considerate of your feelings…"

As Mimori rambled, tears welled in her eyes and Ryuho simply stared at her in shocked bewilderment. He noted how eerily accurate her hypothetical prediction seemed, but at the same time was at a loss to understand or explain how, at that moment, she was actually wrong. He had no intentions of leaving, but did think that they both deserved some explanations for each other's bizarre behavior. However, when he tried to interrupt her entreaty, she hastily pressed two fingers over his lips as she continued, "…And I don't want any of that to happen yet, so for God's sake, just kiss me!"

With a last willful tug she pulled their faces together and pleaded her case with her lips and tongue. Unable to resist the sweet summons of her mouth, Ryuho tabled his objections in favor of renewing their frantic union. He quickly met her energy and matched it, feeling the surge of passion reignite between them almost instantly. Never breaking their contact, he moved off of her leg so that he could hoist it up around his hip and pull her into his lap, holding her in place with a firm hand on her backside. The palm that had cradled her head now flattened against her spine, pulling her breasts flush against his chest. However, this time he was definitely attentive to her breathing pattern, periodically monitoring the air that stirred near her nose and tempering their pace to ensure that she at least took in little gasps ever so often.

God, the feel of her in his arms, pressed against his body, was invigorating! His head was light and swimmy again but not from being upside-down this time, though he felt like it. His senses were in overdrive, noting every nuance of their interactions with an acute hypersensitivity. Every little thing she did kindled a burning fire that sparked in his gut and shot straight to his groin: The way she plowed tiny furrows through his hair with firm, questing fingers, playing with the tilt of his head and the pressure of her lips against his. The adorable little giggle that vibrated the inside of his mouth when his tongue tickled a particularly sensitive spot inside her cheek. The shy way she retreated from his advances, only to regroup so that she could attack and dominate in the next round. And the nearly imperceptible rub of her body against his whenever she unconsciously rocked her hips, grazing her pelvis against his growing erection. She moved with him instinctively, every action seeming harmoniously coordinated as if they'd been practicing advanced make-out skills with each other for a lifetime; no doubt they could easily be mistaken for well-seasoned international necking champions.

And yet, even in the midst of their mutual voracious appetites, Ryuho couldn't quite banish the nagging hint of reality that had asserted a firm toe-hold on his mind. She was right- he was supposed to be ignoring her and trying to send her home, for both her safety and his sanity. He was _not _supposed to be sucking on her writhing tongue or manually exploring her half-naked body in the middle of her apartment floor. Ultimately, when the cloud of passion finally dissipated he would be stuck in a situation even more complicated than the one that had previously existed between them.

Where in the world was this going? What would happen after things cooled down and common sense was again firmly in place for both of them? Images of disparate feelings and expectations and an awkward parting taunted from the back of his mind and he wondered how he had even allowed himself to get this far in this strange tangle of lust. And suddenly the word 'control' loomed in the forefront. Once again Mimori had affected his total loss of control, albeit unwittingly. She didn't realize how much power she wielded, how much she took from him whenever she was near. She didn't know that she was the only one who could break all of his rules, or have him do the same, without calling down his immediate wrath. She didn't understand how vulnerable she made him. And now that he had acknowledged his feelings for her, to both her and himself, that vulnerability would be even more dangerous- to his position… his edge… even his very existence.

He had to stop this; it would never work. Certainly he wanted Mimori to be happy. But Ryuho knew there was no way he could ever be the one to make that happen. By his own design, he was still a bumbling amateur when it came to relationships of any kind; if he was going to attempt a real one, then perhaps he should have started with something simpler- like a house plant or a weekly poker night with the guys. What hope did he have of sustaining a committed relationship with the woman who might be 'the one'? And while his inevitable failure meant that he would crush her emotionally, any bit of success meant that he might endanger her physically. He had made a lot of enemies and while many of them were in custody or prowled the Lost Ground, some of them roamed the halls of HOLY. If word got out about a relationship between the two of them, Mimori would become an instant target. And though he admired his Commander, Ryuho knew that Jigmar was a manipulative man. If he ever found out about his feelings for her… He had to stop this _now_!

With a little more force than was necessary, Ryuho spilled Mimori out of his lap as he tore himself away from her lips. Startled, she reached out a hand for him but slowly withdrew it when she saw the serious expression on his face. "Mimori, wait a minute! We can't do this. Neither of us is thinking rationally."

'_Rationally.'_ She heard that word like a death knell for what had just been her rapidly congealing fantasy. It was happening- everything she had feared from the moment that they'd begun kissing was about to come true. He would deny his feelings for her and tell her that the whole thing had been a mistake. She knew he'd be lying, but it didn't matter, because he had to protect himself- from her.

Meanwhile, Ryuho steeled himself for another potential battle. Mimori wouldn't go quietly, not after what had happened, but he needed her to stay away from him and the best way to do that was to shut her down completely. Denial was his only option. "I'm not sure what happened just now. I think frazzled nerves and teenage hormones got the better of us, but we can't continue this. It's inappropriate and against regulations. I'm sure that neither of us wants to get fired over something so frivolous. You should try to forget that this ever happened; I know I will…"

It ached… Mimori's heart literally ached in her chest as she watched her world begin to fall apart. She knew his words were just for show, but they cut her deeply all the same. She'd finally gotten a peek inside the cold steel vault surrounding his soul and had caught a glimpse of the boy she missed and the man that she wanted to be with. However, her visions of a future with him simply didn't stand up in the face of reality. Petty things like pride, regulations, and social decency would crush any chance she might have had of being happy in this place with the man she loved. The spell was breaking, and any moment he'd turn his back on her and she'd be left searching the kingdom for her own damn slipper.

And as her brain explained these things to her heart, she suddenly understood what she had to do. If she really loved him, really wanted what was best for him, she had to let him go.

When Ryuho leaned forward to stand up Mimori reached across the physically small yet emotionally vast distance between them and placed a gentle hand on his knee, halting him. She turned sad yet sincere eyes up at his and spoke from deep within. "It hurts, doesn't it? My presence here at HOLY… it's hurting you."

Ryuho suddenly froze and stared back at her. "What? That's nonsense…" However his eyes betrayed him, revealing the truth of her words.

Suspicions confirmed she interrupted his impending excuse, needing now more than ever to say her piece. "No, it's true. I finally realized that tonight. I thought you wanted to get rid of me because you really had lost interest in our past. I figured that my presence was simply an annoyance to you because you'd let go of the memories that I still clung to."

"Mimori, don't…"

"But now I know that you do care. You wouldn't have kissed me tonight… like that… wouldn't have gotten upset over Cougar… wouldn't have even come to my apartment in the first place if you didn't care at least a little."

"Mimori, please…" Ryuho was afraid of where she was going and wasn't sure he was strong enough to stop her if she went too far.

However, Mimori simply smiled up at him. "But you're a strange kind of man, Ryuho Tairen, and caring is a liability for you. Distractions put you off of your game; hinder the achievement of your ultimate goals, whatever those might be. And, if I might be so bold, my continuing presence here is a distraction to you. Something about me being here interferes with your duties- not to HOLY, but to yourself… And I can't accept that…"

He was totally confused. He thought she was pleading her case to stay and be with him, but her last words put him off his guard. "Mimori… what are you saying?"

Taking a deep breath, she shored up her heart for the beating she was about to give it. However, Mimori dropped her gaze; she couldn't bring herself to look in Ryuho's eyes when she finally admitted the truth. "I'm saying that I came here with a lot of naïve notions about our future. I'd hoped for… God, I won't lie, I'd hoped for a relationship… with you… but at the very least, I wanted us to be friends again…"

_Friends…_ That word stood out against all the others. It was like she had read his thoughts from earlier today. Did she have any idea what her confession was doing to him? "Mimori…"

She heard the protest in his voice but couldn't stop herself now; she'd come too far. "But I can't stay here knowing that every day I'm here I'm making your life more difficult! That's the last thing I wanted; I care for you too much to knowingly do that to you. So… if it will give you peace of mind… if you ask me to leave… HOLY… or the Lost Ground altogether… I will." And at her last words Mimori looked back up into Ryuho's eyes and the tears welling against her lashes finally spill over onto her cheeks.

Leave? Just like that? After all his persistence and all her protests, it hardly seemed real. "But… why now? Why not all of the times I've asked you before?"

She smiled a sad and helpless kind of smile. "Because now I finally understand the real reason that you want me to go. And also, I think you finally understand why I wanted to stay…"

Ryuho couldn't believe it. Despite his harsh words, she had still figured out that he cared for her. And yet even with that knowledge she was prepared to sacrifice her own happiness for his comfort. He told himself it had to be some sort of game, but the look in her eyes was deadly serious. He'd never seen her so heartbroken. "Mimori, I…"

"But first…" she interrupted him, certain that he was going to make the fated request right then. Mimori knew she should have stopped there, but she couldn't help herself; after everything that had happened that night she just couldn't let it end like this, "…I have one request. And your answer won't change anything I've said so far…"

She shored up her courage for the next admission, inhaling a deep breath and swallowing hard. "If you haven't figured it out by now, I think I might be in love with you…" She dropped her gaze to the floor again, unable to meet his eyes in the midst of another stark confession. "Whether you like it or not, next to my family, you're the most important person in my life right now. I've turned my world upside down to be with you, and now I'm about to say goodbye for what might be the last time…"

Even as she spoke she couldn't believe that her brain was allowing her mouth to betray her heart's heaviest secret like this. She knew that desperation and raw emotions must have snatched away any logic that might have guided her thoughts or actions, but she found she was utterly powerless to assert any kind of control over herself. She was running on a strange and unfamiliar sort of autopilot, and it steered her towards a request that she never thought she could have spoken aloud, "But before I go… I wanted to take one more thing with me… one more memory…"

Shocked by her own wantonness, she finally raised her gaze again and saw the confusion and disproval written across his features. More tears fell; she was committing emotional suicide but she'd ventured too far out on this precarious limb to back out now. If she didn't ask, she knew the unspoken possibility would haunt and eventually consume her. It was better to just unburden her tortured soul now. She put on the most neutral mask she could manage and let the words slip quietly from her lips, "Stay the night with me… tonight… Be my first… and then I promise I'll go. Forever."

Neither of them breathed. Instead, Mimori sat perfectly still and waited, searching Ryuho's face for any hints as to what he might be thinking. And Ryuho replayed her words over and over in his head, trying to make sense of the events that had led the two of them to this point. She had given him a choice- two choices, actually- both of which had caught him by surprise. He had to know if it was some sort of elaborate trick. "Is this an ultimatum?"

She frowned slightly. "I told you it's not. Think of it as a request… a favor, I guess. You can refuse."

"And you wouldn't get angry." He voice was pregnant with skepticism.

"I'd be a little hurt. But I would understand and respect your choice. I don't want you to feel obligated. I'm not looking for a consolation prize." She was lying- she'd be devastated, but she didn't want him to feel as if he owed her anything. She worried that he already thought less of her as it was. Sitting sideways on the floor, Mimori stared down at her knees, nervously plucking at her fingernails as she gave him time to think. She tried not to let the worst case scenarios creep into her mind, but the longer Ryuho's silence lasted, the more frightened she became.

Ryuho, on the other hand, was torn. If Mimori had told him that morning that she had finally agreed to leave the island, he would have insisted that she go without giving the matter a second thought. However, so much had happened in this single day, causing him to question every decision he had made about his life and his past. After weeks of relentlessly demanding her departure from HOLY he was suddenly unsure that he really wanted her to go. He had the opportunity to make a change for himself; a change that his mother would probably insist was one for the better. She had always loved Mimori and now, seeing her true nature emerge, he was starting to understand why.

He knew he should make the rational choice. He should leave right now, and tell her once and for all to return to the Mainland. If she really was true to her word then she would go, and he could try to carry on with the life he had chosen for himself. She wouldn't be there to distract him or make him vulnerable; he could continue climbing the ranks of HOLY, hunting rogue Alters and searching for his mother's killer without a walking embodiment of his past haunting him daily. After enough time had passed, he would undoubtedly think of her less and less until he forced himself not to think of her at all. He could even grant her last request, stay with her tonight, and make one last unspoiled memory of her to cherish and worship before she faded from his life. Common sense said that either of these was the best answer.

However, Ryuho was all too aware that common sense hadn't played a single part in any of his startling revelations today, and he wondered if perhaps he'd been placing too much weight on it all along. All it had brought him was a heaped pile of misery; it had not won him the progress that had been promised to him. Instead it seemed there was a lot to be said for spontaneity and following one's gut- these had certainly given him interesting results tonight…

Fresh sensations of grappling tongues and curious fingers flooded his memory with a now-familiar pang of yearning following closely behind. What if he wanted a change? Was it too late to divert his path to one less torturous and more rewarding than his current one? Could he still attain his ultimate goals while finding contentment in the present? As each question rose in his mind his heart shouted answers that, for once, his brain didn't argue with. Adrenaline slowly yet steadily surged through him at the prospect of chasing a goal that both his heart and soul desired. If he poured just a fraction of the dedication into this single pursuit that he had with all of the fruitless and meaningless ones before, then there was no way he could fail, not when his heart would be in it this time. He could stumble and fall, and yet somehow he knew that he could still win. Suddenly his choice was obvious…

A tiny movement in the corner of his vision caught his attention, and his curiosity finally snapped him out of his heavy reflections. To his surprise he discovered that it had been a tear falling off of Mimori's chin onto the sleeve of her oversized shirt. The entire time that he had been sitting here thinking she had been silently and patiently waiting, hoping for the best and yet undoubtedly assuming the worst. Another tear soon traced the path of the last and he instantly cursed himself for being a callous and self-centered fool. He had tortured this angelic beauty long enough, and he wasn't just thinking about tonight. It was time to be as honest as she had been.

"So let me understand this…" After their prolonged silence, his words caught Mimori off guard and she lifted expectant and somewhat frightened eyes at him. She hastily wiped her tears off of her cheeks with her sleeves and then gave him her full attention, pressing slightly trembling hands into her lap to still them.

Still kneeling on his knees, Ryuho leaned back against his heels to give her an appraising look. "…If I asked you to, you would leave the Lost Ground and never come back."

"Yes." She blinked. No other muscle moved on her entire body. She wasn't even breathing.

A thin line wrinkled the bridge of his nose as his eyebrows settled more heavily over his eyes. "And if I stayed here with you tonight, you wouldn't change your mind later and insist on remaining? Even if you didn't really want to go?"

"I don't want to go. But I've given you my word. I won't go back on it."

He paused, considering her answer very carefully. Then his body shook with a weighty sigh, and he turned sincere and apologetic eyes down on her. "I'm sorry, Mimori… I can't do that."

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To be continued…


	5. Just to Be Close to You

A/N: So as you will see this last update has a real 'kitchen sink' quality about it and that's before you even get to the lemon. But I really wanted to tie up all the loose ends and damnit if that part of the story didn't practically write itself. So if it's too long just skip to the next chapter where all the naughty bits that you've been so patiently waiting for are located. Just come back and read this eventually, okay? I worked really hard on it, not to mention it has been **REPOSTED WITH EDITS!**

**Warning**: This story contains **frank sexual content**, so please don't proceed if that sort of thing offends you. While there's a lot of plot development in this chapter, there's also some heavy mature stuff here so please heed the rating. You've been warned. And FYI, the hard core lemon is in the next chapter :coughing behind cloud of smoke: Hey, where did everybody go?

**Disclaimer**: Not mine. Just stop toying with me…

**A/N and additional disclaimer**: It has been brought to my attention that Mimori's little swoon at the beginning of the last chapter vaguely reminded someone of some sort of bizarre trend she'd heard of where young people were purposefully blacking out to get additional euphoria from sex or a drug high. This story **in now way** meant to communicate such a situation and **neither this story nor the author** endorses or condones such actions in any way. The loss of consciousness was meant to be accidental and was merely a plot device to drive the story forward. :sighs, rolls eyes: Come on people- don't be stupid. Passing out on purpose? Just say 'No'…

* * *

**Crash into Me**

**Chapter 5- Just to Be Close to You**

Receiving his answer, Mimori simply blinked. That was all she could manage; the rest of her body stubbornly froze in place as she tried to process the implications of his refusal. He wanted a clean break. He didn't want any bittersweet reminders of the torch she carried for him once she was gone. Or perhaps, after their passionate grapple, he didn't trust himself not to change his mind about sending her away once he'd been with her. In any case, he had said 'no' and now she was going to have to pretend like it didn't bother her. She would have to find some way to carry herself with gracious dignity until he left, which, if God had any sympathy left for her, would be in the next 3 seconds. Then she could lock her door and cry until she retched. Searching for the appropriate words for the surreal situation, she could only mutter a weak 'I see…'

However, Ryuho adamantly shook his head, "I don't think you do. It's not as simple or poetic as you make it sound, Mimori. No matter what you say, we can't spend just one night together and then part ways as if everything is fine. If you leave this island like that you'll eventually grow to despise me, ultimately tainting any fond memories you might have been trying to create. You can deny it all you want, but we both know it's true."

Guilt flashed in her eyes. She opened her mouth to reply but no sound came out. Ryuho simply continued, "You say that you finally understand that I care about you, yet you assume I'd put you through that kind of heartache just to get you out of HOLY and away from me…"

She silently dropped her eyes, unable to meet his gaze. "…and normally you would have been right."

Deep chocolate pools floated up once again, confusion prominent in her withered expression. Still, he pressed forward, needing to clarify his words. "Any other time, if you had told me you would leave if asked, I would have selfishly insisted on your immediate departure, even knowing you wanted to stay here to be with me…"

"…But after tonight, I can't keep denying these intense feelings for you, Mimori. And I'm not exaggerating when I say intense- you're there in my dreams at night. Even in the middle of the day- when I close my eyes you're image is waiting for me. Just the mere mention of your name sends me to total distraction, to the point where I've become obsessed with trying to get you out of my head. I've been fighting it for so long, even insisting that these feelings didn't exist. I thought making you leave was the answer to finally banishing them once and for all."

"Ryuho…" Fresh tear drops traced new trails down Mimori's blushing cheeks. "I didn't know… I knew you cared, but… I don't understand; what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that tonight I finally realized that sending you away won't fix anything. I'm not going to ask you to leave, Mimori. I can't let you; not like this… not for me."

She wrinkled skeptical brows at him. "But… I thought it would be easier… if I were gone."

He shook his head again, "I know. But now I realize I'd only obsess about you in your absence. And it would be selfish of me- trying to get rid of you. The work you do here, it's important. I've seen your research; the Commander says you've made more advances than the rest of your department combined. And people care for you; you've made more friends in the few weeks that you've been here than I've made in all the years I've been at HOLY. Making you leave would be doing a disservice to the whole organization."

She searched the floor in front of her as if answers might be hiding in the pattern of the carpet before finally meeting his gaze. "So… you think I should stay…"

He swallowed hard before pressing forward, "Mimori, I need you to stay. And not just for HOLY, but for me. Because I was wrong… wrong about so many things… but I think… I think you could be the one to help set things right for me, help me turn it around before it's too late. I have no right to ask you to save me. If you stay with me I can almost guarantee that sooner or later I'll say or do the wrong thing and I'll end up hurting you. But I have to ask, because I don't think I can change without you."

"I… I don't know what to say…" It wasn't real. She was dreaming. Any minute she'd wake up and have to peel her tired face off of her desk in the lab. There was no way that Ryuho was sitting on her apartment floor looking absolutely edible and telling her that not only did he _not_ want her to go but that he _needed _her to stay with him. Her brain was playing the sickest, cruelest joke on her ever.

Ryuho misinterpreted the bewildered expression on her face, thinking that she doubted his sincerity. Desperation shot through every nerve- he needed to make her understand. If she backed away now… Knuckles turned white as fists clenched tight at his sides and he shook his head in a vain search for clarity. "This is coming out all wrong! Because the most important thing I want you to understand is that I want to be with you, Mimori! I want to pull you into my arms, kiss you senseless and then carry you into your bedroom to spend the rest of the night becoming intimately familiar with every naked inch of you! I don't want you to think that I'm here only because of a favor or out of pity. I don't want anything hanging over our heads- no bargains, no conditions, no stipulations. I just want you. I want to make love to you, Mimori, not because you asked me to, but because I've wanted you ever since you first walked into this building all those weeks ago."

Tiny lights flashed in front of her eyes and Mimori dug nails into the carpet as if her ceiling might swap places with her floor. "Oh, God…" more tears streamed down her cheeks and she lurched forward. Ryuho instantly closed the distance between them on his hands and knees, grabbing her sides just as he had earlier after their fateful collision. Once more she found her cheek resting in the crook of his neck.

"Mimori! Are you alright?" She heard his voice as if from a distance, and then felt his hand gently lift her chin until she was looking up at his worried face.

"Is this real? Are you really here, saying these things to me? Telling me you want me? You need me? I've dreamt about this moment…" Scenes from every corny romance flick she'd ever seen flashed in her head at her own clumsy words, but she couldn't help it- it was exactly how she felt and she expected reality to crash back down upon her at any moment.

Relief flooded Ryuho's features and he smiled down at her, glad that she actually believed him. "I'm really here…" When she closed her eyes he softly grazed a kiss over one eyelid, her wet lashes tickling the skin beneath his mouth. "…I really do need you…" He kissed her other lid, "…I really do want you…" He brushed his lips down her cheeks, tracing the trails of her tears, "…and I really want to kiss you once I'm sure you won't faint on me again."

She smiled warmly at him and leaned up towards his mouth, "I'm not going anywhere."

Meeting her half way, he whispered against her lips, "I'm counting on it," just before sealing their mouths together.

Their renewed kiss was less urgent but just as passionate as their first, each wanting to demonstrate their desire for the other through their connection. Ryuho settled his arms around her waist, spreading wide palms against her back and Mimori draped her elbows over his shoulders, one hand quickly tangling into the hair at the nape of his neck. Tongues tagged and wrestled in a delightful stalemate and they chuckled into each others mouths. There was a sense of relief and happiness that surged between them, charging the air around them as they delved into each other once more.

Sensing Mimori's waning breath yet again, Ryuho reluctantly broke the suction between them to trail kisses from the corner of her lips to her jaw line. As he suspected, she immediately began taking huge gulps of air, panting against him. Meanwhile, he used his time away from her lips to occupy himself with the enchanting curve of her neck, which was coincidently thrown back in her quest for oxygen. He searched for her pulse point with the tip of his tongue and then nipped and licked at it playfully once he found it. He felt her moans of approval vibrate against her throat and his lips and wondered what other noises he could coax from her. He traced a path down to her shoulder, alternately licking and sucking as he experimented with different pressures and combinations that might make her gasp in delight or unconsciously pull on his hair.

He kept bending over her until his nose was buried deep in her collar; he finally met with enough resistance to want the over-shirt gone and dragged his hands away from her back to peel the too-large smock off of her. Needing to have that much more of her skin touching him, Mimori hastily pulled her arms back and shrugged out of the garment, puddling it on the floor behind her.

However, when she reached her arms up to reclaim their former resting spot on his shoulders Ryuho cracked opened his eyes and caught a telltale flash of color in his peripheral vision. Lids snapped open and he froze, garnet orbs honed in on the pale purple band discoloring her upper arm. A large palm-sized circle of battered skin stretched across her bicep, from which several long parallel lines extended to wrap around the back of her arm. His handprint… A quick glance showed an identical mark on her other arm and his guilty appendages instantly sprang off her body, as if her skin had caught fire.

Mimori felt him release her and immediately searched for what had spooked him. Tracing the path of his transfixed eyes, she finally saw the stark bruises standing in high relief against her pale arms and reflexively crossed them to hide the splotches beneath her hands. However, this only exacerbated things when she settled a deep purple wrist against her chest, that mark appearing even darker and angrier than the others. Memories of their explosive argument from earlier hit them both at once and Ryuho fell back on his butt, knocked over by shocked disbelief.

He had hurt her, had put violent hands on her- something he never thought he was capable of doing. Now he couldn't see anything beyond those dark marks marring her porcelain skin; he simply stared at them, shaking his head.

However, Mimori would not let him cycle into self-deprecation. Crawling between his open legs, she leaned forward on her knees and caught his head between gentle hands, forcing him to make eye contact. "Ryuho, look at me. I know you didn't mean it…"

His face was twisted in a look of tortured remorse. "Mimori, I'm so sorry… So long as I live I will never, ever-"

"-Shh… don't. I know… It's already forgotten," and before he could protest any further she rose up and kissed his forehead, and then pulled his head down onto her chest. Mimori rocked him like a child, quietly shushing him and running soothing fingers through his hair. She felt his nose settle in the cleft of her breasts and then noted as a spot of wetness dripped from his cheek down between her cleavage. She also felt his hands grip her waist and then glide up her back as he clung tightly to her. She sighed, lifting the weight of his head with the expansion of her lungs, and waited out the silent internal storm raging within him.

After several moments, Ryuho slowly raised his head and focused completely dry eyes on her, his expression one of apologetic entreaty. When she gave him a reassuring smile, he guided Mimori's injured forearm to his face and lightly swept his lips over the inside of her bruised wrist, trailing kisses up the inside of her arm, across the bend in her elbow and lightly kissed the dark marks higher on her limb. His lips then found the identical splotch on her other arm and brushed against it as well; he then kissed a trail over her shoulder and across her collarbone to the little hollow at the base of her throat. He tongued the tiny well, eliciting another sensual moan from the woman whose skin he was tasting, and he eagerly returned to her lips, wanting to feel her groans echo within the cavern of his mouth.

* * *

It didn't take long for their feverish ardor to escalate again and soon Ryuho was pulling Mimori's torso flat against his. When her pelvis bumped against his groin his stomach jumped and he hoisted her knees off the ground to pull her legs over his hips. She immediately complied, squeezing his waist between her thighs and her core brushed against his hardening member. With a new sense of urgency he found footing and stood up, lifting both of their entwined bodies from the floor. Refusing to abandon her delicious mouth, he stole glances of her apartment from around her ear as he tried to navigate his way to her bedroom while still kissing her. In his lust-clouded frenzy, he grazed against several pieces of furniture before finally bumping into her table, the place where their strange and serendipitous evening had begun.

Taking advantage of an opportunity, he momentarily set her down on the edge of the table so that he could readjust his hold before snatching her into the bedroom. However, in her impatience, Mimori began leaning back on the wooden surface, trying to drag him down on top of her. Ryuho tugged her back up and pried himself from her kiss to elicit a warning, "Mimori, wait! There's broken glass on the table! This is just a pit-stop…"

Remembering the shattered glasses, she craned her head back to check for the shards. However, a familiar bowl and its creamy contents caught her eye and imagination; she leaned out of Ryuho's arms and twisted around, grabbing the dish and dragging it towards her perch on the table's edge. Ryuho couldn't help but furrow curious eyebrows at her odd little errand. Was she going to interrupt their rapidly intensifying make-out session for a bowl of melted ice cream? "Umm, are you hungry?"

Glancing from the bowl to the man between her legs, she gave him a coy smile. "Aren't you?"

A feral darkness surged behind his eyes when he answered her, "Not for that…"

However, she simply gave a little shrug and dipped her finger in the dish, generously coating it in a milky layer of the now-melted dessert. "Are you sure?" and with that she raised the long, thin digit to her open mouth and ran her tongue from the base of her finger to the tip, laving off the creamy treat. She then placed her finger deep in her mouth and closed her lips seductively around it. Ryuho watched with renewed interest as the corners of her mouth dimpled from gently sucking up the sweet remnants of the dessert. She raised an eyebrow as she slowly extracted the slick appendage, "How about a taste?"

Ryuho found himself obediently opening his mouth after Mimori scooped another healthy bit of ice cream and brought it up for him. He sucked in the entire length of her coated finger and made an elaborate exhibition of running his tongue up and down the soft skin and sucking it totally clean. When she went to pull it out, he teasingly caught the tip gently but firmly between his teeth, refusing to relinquish the tiny digit back to its owner. She gave him a mock-frown and then grabbed his collar with her other hand to drag his head and her trapped appendage closer. Focusing intently on her approaching lips, he finally surrendered her finger in place of capturing her pouting mouth.

Ryuho delighted in the evident difference between what had been merely a hint of sugary taste in their first kiss and the veritable flood of cream and chocolate mingled with the intrinsic sweetness of her mouth in this one. The ice cream definitely complemented her already enticing natural flavor and he found himself wondering which other foods the taste of her kiss might enhance. God help him if any other part of her body tasted as good as her mouth.

Having learned her lesson, Mimori broke their connection for another dose of much-needed oxygen and leaned her forehead against Ryuho's as she drew in deep breaths. Glancing down, she suddenly chuckled, bumping their heads together. Puzzled, Ryuho pulled back a bit and peered down at the source of her little outburst: apparently not all of the ice cream had made it to his mouth. A large drip had fallen from her finger and spilled down the front of his dark shirt, leaving a wet trail of creamy goo. He raised an eyebrow at her and she wrinkled her nose guiltily. "I'm sorry."

Without even the hint of a smile he replied, "It doesn't go with my outfit." Mimori threw her head back and laughed out loud, only to be greeted by an entirely different sight once she recovered. As her head leveled she caught the edge of a black shirt as it disappeared over his head, leaving her to stare at a compact, impressively-muscled and very naked chest. Her eyes grew large as she took in the contours of his sculpted physique; muscles rippled beneath his skin as he tossed his shirt to a far corner of the room and then brought his arms back down around her. Wide, solid shoulders, rock-hard pectorals, washboard abdominals, sinewy obliques- everywhere she looked fine musculature peeked back at her; the body hiding under his shirt was even more breathtaking than she had imagined!

Ryuho caught her wide-eyed, open-mouthed stare and ducked his head self-consciously, ears turning a crimson to rival his eye color, "…Training and sparring, umm, helps me alleviate tension."

Unable to take her eyes off his torso, she merely nodded, replying, "You must be a very tense person." She caught the tail end of a minute wince.

"You have no idea…"

As she considered his cryptic quip, Mimori finally noticed the faint red lines stretching across the skin of his chest and abdomen. Upon closer inspection it looked as if a hand full of scars had been hurled at him, latching on to his skin like leeches. They were in varying stages of healing and the closer she examined him, the more marks she detected. Some of them were raised and angry while others where fading to a light pink shade or even a pale white; several of the palest ones were only visible because they stood out against the slightly darker tan of his skin. In addition to the healing cuts, red and yellow splotches were liberally scattered across his torso as well, flaming or fading depending on their age. After seeing them, it was a wonder she hadn't noticed them instantly.

Mimori realized that they all marked altercations with his enemies; souvenirs from opponents like Kazuma or the Native Alter that had escaped earlier that day- people who had tried to beat him and perhaps even take his life. They were too numerous to count, and she withered in their presence. "…So many scars…"

His reply was somber and sorrowful, "It's part of being an Alter User… it's part of what I do, who I am…"

After only a moment of contemplation she turned an accepting gaze up at him, eyes full of understanding. Thin, tentative fingers reached up to trace the violent marks marring his skin, barely brushing over the high relief of the physical remnants of battles both recent and long past. As she moved across his chest, her touches grew bolder and more purposeful and her other hand joined the first in careful exploration. He stood perfectly still beneath her surveying fingers as she endeavored to memorize every wound. Somehow, if given enough time, she knew she could heal them all or at least soften the pain of their accompanying memories. It would be one of her first steps toward repairing his fractured soul. Dropping her hands to the back of his waist, she silently urged him closer in order to seal her unspoken promise in a kiss on each scar. Lightly closing her mouth over the nearest mark, she noticed the saltiness of his skin from his earlier workout; she was surprised at how it complemented the lingering sweetness of her dessert and knew she would relish this first self-appointed task. It was entirely too easy to love him; she could accept all of him or mend the parts that he could not accept himself.

Ryuho felt her soft lips repeatedly graze his skin, and he squeezed his eyes tight against the realization of her true intentions. His desperate appeal had been spoken only minutes ago, but already Mimori was working on the jagged parts of him, fitting him back together like a jigsaw puzzle and reaching within herself to replace the pieces that were missing. He was instantly overwhelmed; he would never be able to repay what she was giving him, but he resolved to spend every waking moment from now on endeavoring to do so. Catching her face in his hands, he gently lifted her lips away from his stomach and up to his mouth. After a single languorous kiss he whispered a heartfelt 'Thank you' meant only for her ears and heart.

Mimori smiled up at him, a genuine smile that reached the roots of her hair. His quiet words were more than she ever expected to hear from him, particularly so soon after his discomfiting confession from earlier that night. He was proud above all else, and she honestly hadn't expected any additional emotional acknowledgement from him for the rest of the night. Of course, Ryuho wasn't finished surprising her in words or deeds. Still cupping her face, one of his thumbs began massaging slow, small circles against the spot behind her ear as he tongued the opposite earlobe, sending tiny shivers down her spine. She was so distracted by his new little trick that she almost missed the words exhaled against her neck. "Mimori, I don't deserve you."

Still gripping his lower back, she pulled him closer, squeezing his hips between her open thighs. Head arched back in bliss, her reply was breathy but insistent. "You deserve everything I could possibly give you. I'm just glad that we're finally both getting what we want," and she punctuated her words with another tug that pulled him against her pelvis.

His manhood practically jumped at the contact, and he instinctively ground himself against her center, increasing the pressure on her neck as he clenched his teeth, "God, Mimori, you have no idea how much I want this… how much I want you…" He was buried back in her neck before he could even finish his thought.

She moaned and clenched even tighter around him, crossing her legs against his buttocks. Her searching hands climbed their way up the muscles of his back, gripping tightly as if he might somehow slip away. She could barely find her voice in her fog of ecstasy, "If it's half as much as I want you then this is going to be an interesting night."

He was about to argue the superiority of his desires for her but instead found a more useful task for his lips as they homed in on hers like a beacon. The hand not pulling her to his mouth wrapped around her back and slid down her spine, noting how thin and fragile it seemed beneath his fingers.

Every part of her seemed so frail and delicate to his combat-weathered eyes and hands. To a warrior like him, who encountered fighters of varying calibers on a daily basis- his peerless and confident comrades and fellow soldiers of HOLY, the conniving yet tenacious Native Alters of the wastelands or the hardened and obstinate Inners beyond the city's gates- her lithe and dainty features seemed almost an oddity. She was like a piece of porcelain, requiring the gentlest touch so as not to flaw her pristine form. The bruises he had so easily raised on her body were proof of that. While he acknowledged her formidable emotional strength he found himself growing increasingly anxious over her physical vulnerability. She was susceptible to too many dangers and the more he thought about it the more his mind was assailed with terrifying images. Flashes of her beautiful body in countless states of trauma - bruised and battered, bound and tortured, bloodied and broken, abused and molested, mangled and lifeless- suddenly inundated his consciousness and he instinctively tightened his hold on her.

"Oh God, we can't tell anyone…" The words were uttered before he even realized it, startling the love-drunk woman in his arms.

Mimori managed to turn a woozy and quizzical eye at him but never ceased her provocative manual explorations of his back. "Who? Tell what?"

He fixed her eyes in a serious stare. "About us, Mimori. We have to keep it a secret. God, I couldn't bear if anything happened to you! I'd go insane…"

She finally stopped herself and rested a hand against his cheek. "What are you talking about? Nothing's going to happen to me-"

"-As long as no one knows we're together! You don't understand, Mimori…" Anxiety tightened every muscle in Ryuho's face.

She simply nodded, "Then explain it."

He sighed, taking only the briefest pause to collect his thoughts. "HOLY is a formidable institution, but it exists against a backdrop of violence and subterfuge. Under the polished veneer it's an aggressive military organization and right now we're at war. We're meeting opposition from all sides; not just from the usual targets but from within as well. As a high-ranking officer, I've made more than my fair share of enemies. They'll lie, cheat and try to manipulate any advantage they can find. I don't want you in the middle of that."

She furrowed contemplative eyebrows at him. "You think that someone might try to use me against you…"

"…Yes, if they knew. So no one can know, not even the Commander- _especially_ not the Commander…" at her concerned frown he replied, "He has enough power over me as it is."

Staring straight in his eyes, Mimori slowly nodded her head. "Alright then. No one will know. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, tonight never happened. If that's what it takes for us to be together, then I'll gladly do it. I'll do whatever it takes to be with you, Ryuho." Then she sighed and gave a nervous chuckle, "Jeez, I thought you were going to ask me for something difficult."

He breathed an audible sigh of relief and then kissed her forehead, resuming the sensuous massaging of her neck. "It will be difficult. We'll have to act like we still don't like each other." His lip twitched with the slightest hint of a smile, "You'll have to resist the urge to jump me in the halls the next time you see me."

"And you'll have to keep your hands to yourself during the medical debriefings with the Commander." Her hands resumed their roving over the topography of his muscles, lightly grating her nails down the length of his back.

Ryuho shivered at the sensation and flattened his other hand against her spine again, fingertips grazing the wing of her shoulder blade through her tank top. Mock-frowning at her words, he teased, "Not even a little action under the conference table?" He bumped his fingers down her vertebrae to dip below the waistband of her panties. Feeling the swell of her bottom beneath his hand, he squeezed the flesh, kneading it between his fingers to gauge the sensitivity. That move earned him an approving gasp and she squeezed her thighs around his hips again, sending his head spinning.

"That would be a bad idea. Do you really want to start something you wouldn't be able to finish? Before the night's out, I think you'll find I tend to get a little carried away…" and to prove her point Mimori pulled his chest towards her and leaned down to flick her tongue across one of his small nipples and set her teeth against it. She felt his muscles jump beneath her lips and hands and smiled against his skin, working even more fervently on the little nub stretched over his pec.

Feeling her tongue and teeth lick and nip at his skin, Ryuho's erection began swelling and fighting the restrictive confines of his briefs. A ragged suck of air through clenched teeth signaled that things were rapidly escalating and a renewed sense of urgency seized him. "Actually, I think it's about time you _really_ got carried away," and suddenly both of his hands palmed her buttocks and lifted her off the table, yanking her up against his stomach. She reflexively latched on to him, tightening arms and legs around his body as he swung her away from the table and began striding purposefully towards her bedroom.

---------------------------

To be continued… Lemon ahoy!


	6. Never Too Much

A/N: And last but not least… the ending! **REPOSTED WITH SERIOUS EDITS!** However, I still feel the need to mention the real headache of this story, which came with trying to decide how explicit to get with the lemon. As you all know, when it comes to writing I'm nearly obsessed with detail, and that includes the, um, mature content (exhibit A: Sweet and Sour Pork). But there are guidelines for mature content on this site that don't make much sense to me and I fought with just how much detail and what types of words I could use without incurring the wrath of the mighty FF Gods. In the end, I erred on the side of **NEAR-EXPLICIT** so if that bothers you, then just close this window right now, secure in the fact that things probably turned out fine between our two protagonists. That's all I'll say.

Also, the first post of this chapter seemed kind of raggedy to me, so I went back through it and tried to make it a bit more cohesive and fluid. The changes are few, but notable; I like this version much better and I think you will, too. So bon appetite!

**Warning**: This chapter contains **heavy LEMON** and lots of it! Not kidding, so please hit the back button and get out of the 'M' section if that offends you! How did you get this far into the story not knowing there was going to be sex in it, anyway? Complies with FF guidelines (in my imaginary world)- so run away, little censors! Now on to the good stuff…

Disclaimer: Not mine. If it were, then things would have obviously turned out MUCH different…

* * *

**Crash into Me**

**Chapter 6- Never Too Much**

As Ryuho carried Mimori through her apartment, she exhaled an approving 'Oh God, yes…' before capturing his mouth, tongue pushing past his teeth as if on a quest for his tonsils. This time he made it to her bedroom doorway unhindered. As he crossed the threshold she grabbed the doorframe with one hand, yanking him to a temporary stop. Working by feel alone so she could continue exploring his mouth, Mimori's fingers expertly tapped across the lighting controls and the overheads dimmed to a soft glow, immediately setting a sensual mood.

Feeling both of her arms firmly back in place around his neck, Ryuho proceeded straight to the bed and dropped one knee down onto it. As he leaned over to place Mimori gently in the middle of the bed her entwined limbs pulled him down on top of her, spilling them both in a messy heap amidst the soft sheets. Awareness of their arrival at their long-awaited destination escalated appetites exponentially and soon frantic hands were tugging at clothing, dipping beneath in search of as-yet untouched skin. Desperate, strangled moans spilled from Mimori's throat into Ryuho's, snatching at his last bit of composure. His engorging manhood ached and throbbed in his shorts and he ground himself against her in a vain attempt at relief. She writhed in response, pulling her legs wide open beneath him and rubbing her breasts wantonly against his hard chest. Hand already under her tank top in the back, he reached up to the nape of her neck pulling the garment with him. Sensing his intentions, she momentarily suspended her exploration to pull her top over her chest and then her head, allowing the shirt to fall from her outstretched fingers onto the floor.

Ryuho had leaned up to give her some wiggle room by propping himself on a flat hand pressed into the mattress at her side, but now stared down at her bared chest in utter amazement. Being a teenage male, he'd of course seen pictures of breasts before: documentaries where the native women didn't wear tops, or where mothers nursed their babies. He'd also seen plenty of men's magazines full of girls riddled with impractically gigantic implants and surgical alterations. But the delicate milky mounds gracing the lithe torso in front of him were in a different class altogether. They were pert and perky- ample and voluptuous in their size without being so large as to be raunchy. Dusky nipples stood at attention beneath his gaze, begging to be plucked and fondled. He imagined that even had he trekked the globe in a tireless quest for the earth's most perfect breasts he'd be hard pressed to find anything to rival the sight before him.

Mimori, who had simply considered the removal of her tank to be an annoying interruption of an otherwise flawless bit of foreplay, was totally taken aback by the way Ryuho was now staring at her naked upper half. Was something wrong? Did they look ugly or misshapen? Being a fan of the buff, Mimori had scrutinized her chest many times and guessed that she looked about average, if not a little busty. But as she watched his eyes jump left and right her mind was suddenly flooded with doubts. Her hands slowly dropped from over her head to rest atop the darkness of her nipples as fear clouded into the corners of her eyes.

View suddenly obscured, Ryuho's gaze finally jumped up to Mimori's face and registered her mounting trepidation. Totally embarrassed, he blurted out a hasty apology, feeling foolish for reacting so childishly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare! They're just… you're just so… beautiful… perfect…" He winced at how lame he sounded and mentally counted to ten before daring to look back down at her. He was of course not expecting the surprised little blush awaiting him.

"You think I'm beautiful?" Her voice was tiny and uncertain and when she bit the edge of her lip, he nearly dropped himself down to bite it for her. Instead, he slowly lowered himself over her, resting on his forearms so that his chin hovered just over her sternum.

"Mimori, I don't have very much experience with this, but I can't imagine anything or anyone more perfect than you…" and leaning on one side, he reached a tentative hand up and set it against her ribs, just beneath the swell of her right breast.

Her skin twitched beneath his touch and she slowly lifted her hand away from herself to allow him access. Somewhat surprised by his comment, she tried to make her query sound casual, "Do you mean that I'll…?"

Once again taking in the sight of her fully exposed breast, he nodded absently, "Yes, you'll be mine, too." Mimori tried to process the implications of this new confession but became entirely too distracted when Ryuho grazed careful fingers over the outer curve of her soft mound, tracing the periphery of the darker areola. A soft whimper of pleasure issued from between her parted lips and he instinctively deepened the pressure of his touch.

Fascinated with the two differing skins, Ryuho alternately moved between the plump roundness of pale flesh and the flatness of the darker skin circling her nipple. To his surprise the little peak seemed to wrinkle and stiffen beneath his fingers and he rubbed across it in curiosity. The sudden gasp and spasm that this elicited from her greatly intrigued him and he began rolling and squeezing it between his fingers. A passionate cry the likes of which he'd never heard before suddenly leapt from Mimori's throat and she began arching her back up to push into his touch. Encouraged by her strong reaction, he pinched and twisted the nub while kneading the surrounding flesh with his remaining fingers, trying to see how loud he could compel her outcries.

One of Mimori's hands reached back into her hair, clenching against her scalp; her head rolled back driving into the mattress as her body lifted off of it. Her other hand abused her left breast in a vain attempt to mimic Ryuho's attentions on the right. Somewhat greedy for total control, he shifted his weight on her so that he could take over the duties for both breasts. She happily relinquished her hold only to pout when he removed his first hand to prop himself back up. However, Ryuho quickly assuaged her by promptly closed his lips over the achingly sensitive peak, tonguing and sucking on the erect apex with an intense fervor.

The resulting spasm that wracked her body was so powerful that it lifted them both off the sheets and Ryuho had to wrap an arm around the back of her shoulder to stay on top of her. Mimori's hands plowed deep into his hair, tousling green locks all over his head as she pushed her tender breast even deeper into his mouth. Desiring a better hold, he released her shoulder to push his arm between her back and the mattress and lifted so that his propped elbow supported her. This position slid him lower between her legs so that he had to curve his back to maintain the intimate bond between his lips and her bosom.

He worked diligently to coordinate his tongue and the other hand on her mound to maximize the pleasured reactions of her receptive body. He was becoming obsessed with the numerous unintelligible syllables spilling from her throat and barely registered when one of her hands rubbed flat against his stomach. That is, until that hand pushed down between their bodies and began methodically massaging the material covering his swollen organ. He growled against the slick skin of her breast and she began rubbing and squeezing her fingers around him. He drove his hips into her kneading palm forcing the back of her wrist against her own center, pushing them both to an even higher plane of mutual ecstasy.

Mimori was intrigued by Ryuho's strong reaction to her touch on his manhood. Wishing to reciprocate his generosity and out of her own sense of curiosity, she raised her hand back to his stomach to dip her fingers beneath the waistband of his pants and underwear. She allowed herself a small smirk at the discovery that he wore briefs instead of boxers before hesitantly sliding her fingers down his ab muscles, grazing through short hairs before hitting the warmer, softer skin of his engorging shaft. The tight elastic and his growing hard-on left little room for her to maneuver but she eventually managed to wrap her fingers around his base and stroke down his length. The restrictive confines pressed another sensitive skin against the back of her fingers and their movement against it only seemed to heighten his response.

He moaned a harsh expletive around her breast and grated his teeth against her flesh, trying hard not to bite down too painfully. He ground his pelvis into hers, trapping her hand between them again, but she still squeezed her fingers around him, marveling at how the skin grew hotter and more turgid against her palm with each passing second. She was unable to maintain a steady rhythm because his oral and manual attentions to her bosom were a total distraction, causing her to accidentally grip and yank when he stimulated an unusually sensitive spot. Both could feel the intensity spiral higher and higher as they sought to outperform the other.

Tiny muscles between Mimori's legs began to tingle and involuntarily undulate against Ryuho's grinding pelvis. She had long lost any illusion of control over the bizarre noises that he was coaxing out of her. The hand not clutching his manhood dug even deeper into the thick forest of his hair, nails scraping against his scalp in encouragement of his devouring appetite for her breast. Ryuho's thrusting hips were harshly driving the back of her hand against her core, causing waves of cold fire to crash through her entire body. She was growing dizzy with elation and wondered just how much more of this amazing pleasure her body could stand.

Meanwhile, Ryuho was lost in the consuming manipulation of Mimori's tiny palm and long, thin fingers around his throbbing member and along his scalp. He attempted to hold on as she pushed him closer and closer to the brink of infinite bliss; her skillful manipulations repeatedly sliced right through his concentration. He was trying every new trick he could think of or invent to please her but she was still getting the better of him, driving him past any bounds of pleasure he'd known before.

He was losing control of his body in the best possible way and tried to warn Mimori of what was coming. However, all he could manage were strangled groans as he lifted his lips from her breast. His body began shuddering against her and he forcefully covered her mouth with his as he finally fell over the edge. Suddenly every single muscle clenched tight and he screamed into her throat, emptying himself in her hand. It lasted for several agonizing seconds and then he collapsed in a limp heap on top of her, head falling heavily on her shoulder.

Mimori's eyes grew wide at his astonishing behavior as the realization of what had happened fully hit her. She'd done it- even with only her rudimentary efforts she'd driven him to climax; the satisfaction of that knowledge was almost as gratifying as the delicious aching that was churning inside of her. Her hand was slick with his cum but she didn't want to move a muscle until he came back to his senses. The skin of his shaft was still warm, but his length was now more pliant beneath her fingers. However, as Mimori opened her hand he rolled off of her, inadvertently freeing her appendage from his clothes. He had wrapped his arms around her, though, so that when he fell onto his back he pulled her tight to his side, nearly on top of him, trapping an arm and a leg beneath his body. Seeing the contented and far away look on his face had her hardly caring.

Eyes aiming upwards towards a ceiling he didn't really see, Ryuho spoke with a soft rasp new to Mimori's ears, "Wow, just give me a minute… that was incredible… I've never felt anything so intense before…"

She blushed, unable to really look at him though she wholeheartedly agreed, "Me either. It was amazing- I'm still tingling all over…"

He exhaled a satisfied sigh but then frowned, still staring upwards. "I didn't mean to let you do that but I couldn't stop myself. Pretty selfish of me…"

Her snarky reply dripped with sarcasm, "Yeah, girls hate it when you suck on their tits. I was bored out of my mind…"

His head snapped up to her in shock, "Did you just say 'tits'?"

The blush that instantly rose on her cheeks spilled down to her chest, but she still maintained her teasing tone. "In the right mood I'll say all kinds of things you wouldn't expect. Having a really hot guy come in your hand will do that." Then remembering her sticky palm, she rubbed it clean on the back of her tiny shorts.

Ryuho knew exactly what she was doing, but still found the sight of her palming her own voluptuous ass utterly enticing. Suddenly curious, he asked, "So did you…?"

Somewhat surprised, she pulled her trapped arm from beneath him and propped herself on an elbow to face him. "I don't know; I think so… it was definitely the strongest, um, sensation like that that I've ever had… My whole body feels like its still humming…"

However, Ryuho was frowning again, "If you don't know, then you probably didn't. Damn it!"

Mimori pulled herself closer to him and brushed her lips against his. "Don't sweat it. We both know that women's bodies are different than men's; from what I understand it usually takes longer to 'prime the pump' for us, so to speak. You won't hear any complaints from me…"

He could barely wait for her to finish speaking before capturing her lips again and hungrily deepening the kiss between them. He saw the logic in her words; still, he couldn't shake the chastising voice in the back of his head for putting his pleasure before hers. As he considered how to rectify that oversight, Ryuho ran a hand down her naked back, inadvertently summoning renewed moans. As she arched against him again he realized that she was still highly sensitive from his earlier attentions. Sensing an opportunity, he turned on his hip to face her and boldly pulled her flush against his front, the arm beneath her sliding down her back to rest a hand on her tail bone. Two fingers settled along the crease between her buttocks as he firmly spread his other hand in the cleft between her breasts. When she gasped beneath his touch he rested his forehead against her, "I don't want to hear complaints; I want to hear those cute little noises you were making from before. I want to make you lose it- make you feel better than you've ever felt before. But I don't want to hurt you, so tell me if I go too far."

Wide eyes stared back at him but she nodded her consent. Then in a bold move she tilted her head forward and sucked his bottom lip into her mouth. Permission more than granted, the hand on her chest grazed a thumb lightly over her nipple and squeezed her breast before dragging slowly down the plane of her torso. She grated her teeth against the inside of his lip in approval and he continued sliding his palm down until he passed over her belly button. Fingers paused to trace a feather-light outline of the tiny well before continuing down to the top edge of her cutoffs. Deft fingers pulled the material away from her skin and dove beneath, traveling down the flat expanse of her stomach to the edge of her pubis.

Mimori's abdominal muscles jumped at his touch and her thighs clenched tight, butt rising up against his other hand. She sucked a ragged breath between her teeth and his lip and moaned when the pressure of both of his hands against her body increased. She felt his fingers glide down her velvety mound to the spot between her legs, and then his fingers brushed her outer petals before tentatively parting them to explore the slick heat beneath. She uttered a soft moan of pleasure and he seemed to revel in the sound of it. His fingers began tracing odd little squiggle patterns against her center until they brushed against that special little bundle of nerves. She involuntarily bucked under his touch and the grip on her backside tightened in response.

Now certain of one of his marks, Ryuho massaged his fingers against the tender spot, cajoling moans and cries from her as her pelvis writhed against his hand. He played with different articulating techniques while manually memorizing the crucial location. Then he centered his thumb directly over the mark and pressed and rolled it with greater force. Funny noises soon began squeaking and spilling from the back of her throat again and, though his hand never stopped, he periodically paused their kisses to listen to them and try to make out any intelligible content. While his thumb worked firmly against her button, another finger searched her heat for her opening, finally coming across a tight circle of muscle. Pressing against it, he waited for a sign, which he received in the form of a needy whimper. Emboldened by her vocal and physical responses, he plunged a single digit deep within her.

A strong cry stopped him but after a few seconds one of Mimori's hands traced down Ryuho's arm to settle over the back of his wrist and she soon began stroking the skin in encouragement. Fears banished, he continued manipulating his thumb against her and began slowly pumping his finger inside of her, setting a strong rhythm that seemed to push her higher with every plunge. Little high-pitched whispers of 'Oh God' interspersed amidst her moans and cries and soon he could feel her walls begin to ripple around his finger. He pushed another digit in with the first, stretching her a bit wider as he pumped into her body while still grinding his thumb into her spot. The hand resting on top of his began driving him deeper within her and he increased his pace and depth, adding a third. She cried out even louder, clenching her thighs tight, but she continued pressing against his hand, muttering 'Oh God oh God oh God oh God…' as he stroked her arousal. Wrapping an arm around his back as best she could, Mimori pulled their chests flush to concentrate all her fleeting attention on the motion of her hips and the hand skillfully articulating between her legs. Her womanhood felt like it was opening and folding around his manipulating fingers and what could only be described as surges of electricity cycled through her entire body, stimulating scattered nerves and blinding her brain with a bright dizziness.

During all of this Ryuho's manhood was engorging once again, throbbing with rapture against the ghost of Mimori's hand still wrapped around him. The feel of her long digits lingered, but wasn't enough to satisfy the burgeoning tumescence between his legs and he fought the urge to gratify himself in favor of seeing to the full needs of the woman whom his fingers were currently buried within. Hearing her moans and whimper, feeling her thighs clench and her walls flex around his hand from the immeasurable ecstasy he was giving her only drove his yearning higher. His entire body pulsed with greedy desire and the overwhelming need to consume her resurfaced once again. His aching phallus was growing insanely jealous of his fingers as her body coated them in a slick wetness that practically puddled in his palm. His only desperate anchor was the need to make her orgasm, and he clung to that goal like a utility pole in a whipping storm. Her short panting and more insistent gyrations assured him that she was skirting the absolute verge.

Under Ryuho's skillful ministrations, all coherent thoughts were abandoned, reducing Mimori's entire consciousness to sensations and desires. She felt consumed by rapture, as Ryuho drove her further and further beyond any recognizable levels of ecstasy. She wanted him closer- even having his body plastered against hers and his fingers buried between her legs wasn't enough to satisfy the new and now all-consuming inferno that he had stoked deep within her. She thought that she'd experienced pleasure before, but the pinnacle that her body was rapidly hurling towards was unlike anything she'd ever felt and she wanted him inside her when she reached that summit.

Clumsy hands left his arm and back to tug at the waistband of his pants. Her blinding lust was somehow blocking the commands to her fingers and they slipped and stumbled before they were finally able to grab handfuls of material. Still surging higher, she managed to peel the clothing down his hips but got stuck at the wider circumference of his butt. Progress stalled at this roadblock, Ryuho's diligence finally coaxed her over her highest peek and her orgasm crashed down on her like a blasting tsunami. She screamed as her center twisted up and her whole body exploded in tiny spasms. Then every muscle went limp as she gently floated down from the consuming tide.

As she wilted against him, a smug satisfaction stole through Ryuho. During his tactile manipulations he'd noticed her attempt at removing his pants and had become torn between giving up his place between her legs to assist her or to push her over the edge of her first orgasm. The latter finally won out and as he watched her body overwhelm her, he knew he'd made the right decision. Hands stilled as he witnessed the contortion of her face into multiple masks of exquisite ecstasy and heard her elated cries. Seeing her blossom in the rapture that he had induced was worth ignoring the insistent demands of his still-raging hard-on. When she finally began stirring again he was about to ask her what she felt, curious to hear how she might phrase it. However, when he withdrew his fingers from her constricting depths she moaned in near pain and clenched her thighs, trying to recapture his retreating hand. Realizing that she was still hot as ever, he quietly whispered to her, "Mimori, are you alright?"

'Alright' was an understatement that she might have laughed at had she any control over her vocal cords. Her body felt like a giant bundle of a million microscopic nerve endings that had been sliced open and exposed so that even the tiniest stimulus was sent ricocheting through every synapse. The deep exhale that she finally released was shaky and still thick with tension but she was able to give him a very certain single nod before finally finding her voice, "Oh God yes… that was amazing! I feel… oh, God!"

When Ryuho experimentally flexed his other fingers against her buttocks she gulped and moaned again, confirming his assumptions about her still-excited state. Thoroughly elated by the recognition of another opportunity, he nevertheless proceeded cautiously, "Do you want more? If you want… if you're ready…"

Still reeling from total sensory overload, Mimori had to concentrate on his individual words to truly grasp Ryuho's intentions. Hoping to again recapture that moment of bliss and possibly more, she focused pleading eyes on him as she fought to control her still-sensitive body. He saw the wonder cross her face before she finally nodded and whispered, "Please…"

Nodding back his understanding, he smiled at her, trying not to let too much eagerness escape into his features. As he gently rolled her flat on her back, he noted how even the sheets touching her skin made her jerk involuntarily. He pulled himself up to a kneeling position between her thighs and hooked his hands behind her knees, bending them and raising them up to his sides. "Stop me if it's ever too much…"

Unable to reach him, she pulled her arms up and draped one over her heaving chest as the other tangled tremulous fingers into her hair. Her eyes rolled back and closed as she fought to maintain her fragile hold on her composure, "No… never too much…"

Wanting to toy a bit with her manic senses, Ryuho set his hands on her sides and slowly ran them down her ribs until they grazed over her waist. Grabbing the edges of her shorts and panties, he pulled them down her hips with an aching slowness that had his erection and her pulsing core strongly protesting. He peeled the dampened garments down her creamy thighs to her knees, and then lifted her lower legs straight in the air over his head, pulling the clothing over her heels. As he lowered her legs back down, the edge of his lip twitched as he noticed that the crotch of her panties was thoroughly soaked with her wetness; however, he soon tossed the garments away in favor of appraising her now entirely nude form.

She was breathtaking. Even in his wildest imagination, he never imagined that having her naked beneath him, woozy from his attentions and hungry for his touch, would be so mesmerizing. She looked ethereal and he found himself utterly enchanted by what could only be a magic spell that she had cast on him. From his position over her he took in the dark velvet of her apex as her legs fell open. He could barely make out the round swell of her buttocks as they pressed into the mattress; his eyes rose back up to the silky smoothness of her stomach and trailed up her torso, noting the faint curve of each rib beneath her nearly translucent skin. The now-familiar sight of her ample bosom sent a pulse to his groin, and he yanked his pants and underwear down to free his aching erection.

As he crawled out of his bottoms, letting them slide off the edge of the bed to the floor, Ryuho was unable to suppress his satisfied inhale as cooler air hit the hot, taut skin of his manhood. He sat up on his knees and paused for a moment, acclimating to the strong pulse of his heartbeat as it thumped against his temple and throbbed rhythmically along the entire length of his iron-stiff rod. He watched with a feral curiosity as Mimori's wide eyes finally drank in the sight of the thing that she'd been so skillfully stroking before; its rising stature seemed to salute her as boiling liquid lust poured from the rest of his body into his thickening shaft. He'd been worried that she might be intimidated by his commanding size, but she showed no signs of retreat; instead, simply the sight of him increased her breathing rate and she began grinding her palm against her temple as a shaking hand smashed and squeezed a tender nipple. She arced her back into the mattress, involuntarily rolling her hips up and opening herself to him.

Accepting the tantalizing invitation of her body, he carefully lowered himself down on top of her, propping up on a forearm beneath her back as he settled himself between her spread thighs, laying his rigid length between the cleft of her bottom. She gasped as the skin of their private areas finally came in contact with each other and she reached her arms up around his shoulders, pulling his head down to kiss him with all of the passion brimming within her. He eagerly accepted her lips and matched her fervor, his free hand closing over a supple breast to tease and torture as he sought to rekindle fleeting embers of passion. She responded immediately, seeming to spark beneath his touch and the vibrations of her covetous moans were soon bouncing around the hollow of his mouth and tickling his tongue.

Sensing their mutual desires for progression, Ryuho gave her nipple a last sustaining roll before sliding his hand down her abdomen to where there bodies met. Fingers now more certain of their ultimate destination, he pushed his hand between their sandwiched pelvises to take up its now familiar position against her core. No longer willing to waste any time, his fingers headed straight for her tiny erect nub and pinched it; he then used the proceeding spasm to plunge two fingers deep into her heat. Her wet vault instantly tightened around them as she writhed tortuously beneath him, her body unsure of whether it wanted to escape or submit. He lifted his hips just enough to give himself room to work and began rapidly sliding his digits in and out of her mounting wetness while feverishly swirling her trigger beneath his thumb. She tore her mouth from his and squeezed her eyes shut, her jaw jutting and clenching in a vain attempt to bite off her loud vocalizations. Her encircling arms tightened around him with all the strength she had until a questing hand found one of his buttocks and tugged, trying to pull his groin down into her. Her head lolled back again and she shook it, scattering pleading whimpers all around her sheets. "Please!... Ryuho, oh God! Please…"

At her entreaties he pumped more furiously, "Mimori… tell me… tell me what you want-" Tiny beads of sweat sprang from his skin, collecting at his temple and joints. His whole body hummed with longing to thrust his erection into her but he held out for a few more crucial seconds.

Her skin was growing slick against his and she could barely speak around her abundant, shallow pants, "I want you inside me! …Please, Ryuho!... Oh God, I can't take any more! Aannngghhh!" and she dug her heels into the mattress, lifting her butt off the bed as she pushed herself onto his plunging fingers. More than ready, he pulled his hand from her core and his other arm from behind her back to grab a firm hold on both hips, harshly driving her back down onto the bed. As she gasped at the force, he pulled one of her legs wide open and guided himself to her entrance. Seizing her eyes with his own, he searched her features one last time for any doubts. Seeing no hesitancy, he slowly drove his throbbing head into the tight ring of her sheath. She bit off a long scream and her legs reflexively closed ranks but he held her in place beneath him, anchoring her body by grabbing the tops of her shoulders from beneath her back.

She closed her eyes against the pain of his sizeable thickness as he pushed inside of her. She felt him pause, likely sensing the resistance of her inner muscles as they clenched against his tunneling girth. He was much larger than his fingers, twisting a tight cramp behind her belly button. However, she ignored the discomfort in favor of concentrating on the pulse of his breath as he slowly panted against her ear. Remembering the scintillating sensation of his fingers from before, she drew mental parallels to that feeling and matched her breathing to his until she felt herself relax by degrees, slowly accepting him inside her.

Ryuho reveled in the feel of her inner muscles rippling and roiling around the head of his shaft, undulating like tiny tentacles and coaxing his hips to expound upon the sensation. However, he watched her eyes until they finally fluttered opened, and then asked with his own for her approval and permission to continue. The oddly-shaped, open-mouthed smile she gave him was new but communicated all of the love, desire and yearning she felt for him; as he smiled back down on her he finally sank deep into her enveloping womb, impaling her on his entire length.

Mimori's mouth opened in a silent scream, but Ryuho wisely continued, slowly pulling out nearly to the tip and then driving smoothly back into her wet core. As he left her body, Mimori noted that the tiny cramp disappeared, and when he pumped back into her it didn't return. Encouraged by this little triumph she relaxed back against the sheets, allowing her legs to fall to the sides, opening even wider for her first lover. The new, more comfortable position offered a delicious friction that was addictively invigorating and she felt Ryuho slide easily into a strong tidal rhythm, surging in and out of her body, making her grip his shoulders and wrap shivering legs around his waist to keep from getting swept away.

She couldn't believe the sensation of having him buried so deeply within her. The feel of Ryuho's fingers inside her had driven Mimori to near insanity, but that paled in comparison to having his thick erection pounding into her core like this, retreating from her embracing walls only to plunge forth again with a renewed vigor. His plowing girth stretched her wider than she thought possible, but the pain and pleasure intermingled so well that she found herself tilting her hips downward to allow him an even greater depth to plunder. Her entire body jerked and rocked beneath his powerful thrusts and she begged for more. "Oh please… faster… Ryuho!…" The sound of her own desperation shocked her, but she soon abandoned her embarrassment for elation when Ryuho quickened his pace, plunging stronger and even further into her depths, maximally dilating and filling her as though intent on hitting bottom. His increased efforts tore ragged wails from her throat and reality slipped away, replaced by a world of clenching muscles and hypersensitive nerves.

She was lost in the rhythm of his jolting thrusts as they steadily elevated her towards an all-consuming euphoria. The friction of their sweat-slick bodies ignited a burning fire in the pit of her stomach that soon crackled and blazed to life inside her womb. Her juices flowed down like a river, drenching Ryuho's pistoning length as he drove relentlessly into her shuddering core. Slamming harder and faster, his tip finally brushed against her deepest point, causing an instantaneous mini-seizure that convulsed her whole body, and he made that his target from then on. Pulsing into her wet sheath to the time of his hammering heartbeat, Ryuho felt the barreling approach of both of their summits and throttled up, pushing himself to his limit, intent on simultaneous climaxes.

Delirious with her titillating anticipation, Mimori suddenly felt her pinnacle finally surge up and seize her, exploding like a volcano inside her core and then splashing through her entire body like searing lava. Every muscle locked up, capturing Ryuho's manhood deep within her as he crushed her beneath his solid frame, body wracked by a concussive spasm. His hot seed surge into her willing body and he clung to her for dear life, tangled in her jerking limbs, powerless to do anything other than wait out the paralyzing intensity of their passionate sex.

Exhausted from their strenuous efforts, Mimori went limp beneath him, arms and legs falling away from his body as she rode out the crashing tide of her drowning orgasm. Every inch of her skin itched and tingled even though they were both completely still, and she found that she never wanted that sensation to end. Recovering a small fraction of his mobility first, Ryuho folded his arms completely around her and closed his lips over a spot high on her neck, placing a gentle kiss on her skin. Still buried to the hilt, he rolled over onto his back, pulling her on top of him, hoping to make her more comfortable. She sighed a silent thank you and pulled her arms up to tuck them against his warm chest, legs still straddling his thighs.

Ryuho tried to snake a hand between their groins without disturbing her, but she felt him; with her slowly renewing energy Mimori obligingly lifted her hips, allowing him to steadily guide his now flaccid length from her tight sheath. His withdrawal from her body left her feeling strangely empty, but his searching mouth soon found hers, and his delving tongue did wonders to distract her from her peculiar loss. They kissed slowly and deeply, unhurried now that they were both secure in the other's adoration and devotion.

A tiny shiver ghosted down her naked spine, but Ryuho felt it and sent out a long arm in search of her sheet. With a kick of his legs he was able to free it from beneath them and pulled it over her body, dropping it up around her shoulders. He did the same with her comforter, tucking it until both she and her blankets were draped heavily on top of him. He pulled her pillow under his head and then folded his arms around her nude back and bottom, letting her skin slowly warm his fingers and palms. Mimori wriggled on top of him to get comfortable and then gave his lips a last lingering kiss before ducking her head and tucking her crown beneath his chin. He gave a satisfied sigh that sank her deep into his torso and then he closed his eyes, listening to her breathing and waiting for her to fall asleep.

However, after only a few moments, Mimori's tiny voice floated up to his ears, "How long can you stay? I don't want to get you in trouble."

The corner of his lip twitched at her thoughtfulness. "I'll stay all night. I want to sleep with you wrapped in my arms."

He felt her slowly exhale and knew she was smiling against his chest. "You'll have to leave early in the morning. Will you wake me and kiss me goodbye?"

"I'll kiss you, but I won't wake you. I've kept you up late enough as it is…"

Her head stirred as she began to protest, "But I don't mind…"

However, he dragged a heavy hand up the back of her neck and rubbed placating circles into her nape. "I do. Don't fight me on this. Let's just worry about the morning when it comes."

"Alright…" He felt her neck muscles slacken beneath his touch and soon her head grew heavy on his chest again. However, she still wasn't quite done with her questions, "…Ryuho?"

"Yes Mimori?"

"I'm glad you bumped into me today. I'm glad you're here and I'm glad that we did this…"

Both corners of his lips were now twitching like an epileptic, threatening to break out into a full-fledged, honest-to-God, real Ryuho smile. "Not as glad as I am…" He wrinkled his brow at his own stark honesty with her again, suspecting that he might already be starting to change for the better under her captivating influence. His fingers continued the lazy circles against her neck as sleep tugged at the edges of his consciousness. Satiety and contentment curled up next to him and he reveled in daydreams of what the future might hold for them both after tonight. Strangely enough, daydreams no longer seemed so haunting.

Meanwhile, Mimori was happily floating away on the security of a love requited. She had taken so many risks tonight, had laid her soul bare and pushed herself farther than she'd ever thought possible. However, the reward had been equally fantastic and unbelievable and she was tempted to fight her lethargy just to linger in its presence a few moments longer. The soothing knell of Ryuho's heartbeat beneath her ear as she lay upon his chest denied her that wish, slowly lulling her towards a restful slumber. But before she fully yielded, there was one more matter to address:

"…And Ryuho?"

The smooth timbre of his voice found her amidst her clouding thoughts, "Yes, Mimori?"

A small yawn escaped from her mouth, the tail end tickling across his skin before she finally finished her thought, "When we're alone, don't call me 'Ms. Kiryu' ever again…"

She felt his chest vibrate beneath her head with the rumble of his laughter and smiled to herself, knowing he was doing the same. "Yes Mimori…" Eyes closing in delight, she finally surrendered to the beckon of a blissful sleep.

**:The End:**

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A/N: So what did you think? Even after editing the hell out of it, I had to substitute some words and phrases to comply with guidelines so if it sounds a bit clichéd at times, oh well. It still seems a little crass and somewhat OOC to me, but that's what happens when you have 10-plus pages of lemon. Please, please, please review! Reviews are the figurative paycheck I get for all my efforts so please press the button:Cue shameless begging on knees rife with carpet burn:


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